


Healing

by sheankelor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-20 05:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 37,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheankelor/pseuds/sheankelor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two curses started it all. Severus and Minerva lost so much to them and Hogwarts lost both of them. But now something else has come along. Will that allow all of them to heal? No pairings. EWE</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Incentives

**Author's Note:**

> This story mentions different disorders. I am friends with people who have three of the issues mentioned. One who has suffered with the specific disease and two who suffer symptoms of the others. So, please do not go into what I have left out. The lack of information was not intended to be a slight or insult to anyone. The fourth is completely a figment of my imagination. So is my description of the Muggle care system described here. It is based loosely on things I know of, but I cannot guarantee that they apply to the UK system.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to try this. This bunny would not leave me alone...it has been patiently waiting since last October.
> 
> Thank you to Su No Yo for editing this work.

_It was during the school year after the fall of Voldemort, more specifically it was on Christmas break, that the downhill trend started. The one that we are seeing increase today. What occurred then that started all this? Professors Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall were called to the Ministry for a meeting. Why both the school leaders were needed at this meeting is lost to history, but the events that followed it made the_ Evening Prophet _._

 

_It occurred as they were leaving, the meeting done. There, in the foyer of the Ministry, two nameless assailants sent two curses, one very bungled and one perfect, at the two Professors._

 

_I know you would love to know the names of those two dastardly criminals. I fear that this reporter is not prepared to divulge that information. They shall remain nameless because Professor Snape was adamant about no one publishing their names, and to this day no one wants to find out what the end result of going against him will be._

 

_Those two nameless assailants caused an upheaval in the Wizarding world. New security measures were put in place at the Ministry and as neither of the two Professors could return to their positions, Hogwarts’ Governors had to find someone to run the school quickly._

 

_Many say that this rush decision was the beginning of the downhill spiral that has led to the current state of affairs at Hogwarts. Where it was once the most prestigious School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in all of Europe and most of the world, it is now one of the most dismal by some accounts._

 

_On this day, forty years since the tragedy that befell our beloved alma mater, the_ Daily Prophet _would like to hear how the Board of Governors and the Professors of Hogwarts plan to bring our school back to the position it once held._

 

 

Severus Snape closed the Prophet with a snap. This was not what he felt like reading. Yes, it was the anniversary of the attack that landed both him and Minerva in St. Mungo’s, but to have it in the media once again was just a waste of paper.

 

Dropping his head onto his pillow, Severus sighed. For twenty years, both he and Minerva were in separate wards where they were both stuck staring at four white walls. It was those walls that drove him to finding them a Muggle facility to take care of them.

 

Looking around at the pleasant light green walls and the large window, Severus decided that this Muggle facility was much better than the first one they stayed in. He wasn’t tired of it yet, even though they had both been here for ten years. It had taken him nine years to be ready to use the Blasting curse to create a new window or two in the last place; what he wanted to do to the new doctors that were assigned to them there was worthy of his Death Eater past. That was when he had transferred them to this location.

 

He liked this facility better, not just for the paint or the doctors, but because they didn’t believe in letting one wallow in self pity and waste away. Once they found out that he used to be a professor they had asked his help with a few children throughout their time here. The newest one was one that was somehow sneaking his way past the walls that Severus had long erected about himself.

 

His door slammed open and an ten year old shot into the room, grinning from ear to ear. Severus watched as the door closed loudly behind Timothy. Everyone on the hall would know that he had a visitor.

 

“I did it!” The brown haired boy bounced up and down, a paper clasped tightly in his hand. “I made my third ‘eighty percents’ in a row. So that means you have to do it, Toby.”

 

Severus sighed lightly. He had long since given up telling Tim not to call him that. That ‘Toby’ stayed in the his mind was a blessing in and of itself. He had suffered almost three months of the boy not knowing what to call him. _‘For some reason we were talking about full names, and he shortened Tobias to Toby and that was that. Now everyone here calls me that. Even Minerva.’_

 

“Show me the paper and then I will do so.” Severus leveled a neutral look on the boy.

 

Tim rolled his paper so that all Severus could see was the grade on the top. “See!” He danced back, his blue eyes alight with happiness. “Now, up!”

 

“Give me a moment.” Severus closed his eyes and focused.

 

When they had made the bargain, Severus had known that there was a big chance that he would fail at his side, but so did Timothy. The curse that hit him had done exactly what it was supposed to do. It closed about his spinal cord, cutting off all the signals. He knew that he was alive only because he was stubborn, and knew a thing or two about dark curses. He was able to cast a fast counter curse, but it only contained the curse so that it just affected his lower body at the moment it hit him. As he crashed to the floor of the Ministry he had tried to cast a shield over Minerva. The specialists at St. Mungo’s had praised his quick response while they had stabilized his condition. They had even praised his shield that he threw at Minerva, say that was the only reason she wasn’t gone.

 

The end result of his curse was that he was paralyzed from the waist down. It had taken him three years to learn how to make it only affect the skeletal muscles. Now, with the push from Timothy he was trying to move the curse off the spinal cord totally. He had succeeded but it required an almost constant high level of concentration.

 

“Toby! Hurry up.” Tim leaned against the wall.

 

Severus shook his head as he pushed the blankets off his legs. “I am, brat.”

 

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he focused a moment more before using his arms to push himself up to his feet.

 

Before Severus could start to sway, Tim was there ready to steady him. His hands weren’t quite touching the older man.

 

A soft whisper, filled with awe, came from the boy near his elbow. “You’re standing Toby...”

 

Severus let a smirk slip on his face. He knew he could stand. Ever since he made the bargain, three ‘eighty percents’ for him standing, he had been working hard to be able to fulfill his end. Just as hard as he had been working with Tim to succeed as well. Now he wanted to try something else. He wanted to walk to his desk chair.

 

Focusing intently, so much that he almost forgot that the boy was at his elbow, he moved his left foot forward. Once he was sure that it was settled on the ground, he moved the right. Five steps, that was all it took to get to his chair, but he was shaking by time he fell as gracefully as possible into it.

 

Taking a deep breath, Severus held his hand out. “Your paper Tim.”

 

A smile curled his lips at the stunned awed expression on the boy’s face.

 

“You walked! You did it Toby! The doctors said that there was no reason you couldn’t... none that they could find, but they also said that there was no way you could either. But you did...” Timothy’s face glowed as he smiled at Severus. “I’m going to tell Nora and Min.”

 

Severus knew all too well what the doctors had determined. He had read his entire file in a fit of boredom: there was no nerve damage that they could find, but there was also no neurological response either. His nerves conducted their messages, but for some unknown reason, they just stopped when they reached his spine. He knew the reason, but couldn’t explain it to them.

 

Severus quickly shook his head. “I wish to walk to Min’s room and show her, and you know that Nora would not keep that from Min, no matter how much we asked.”

 

A frown damped the beaming face for just a moment. “I’ll find you a cane, and not tell anyone why. This is our secret.”

 

That said, he handed Severus his paper.

 

Unrolling it, Severus almost sighed at the handwriting. _‘Why do all children write so messily. At least I have practice deciphering it.’_ Looking over the paper, he noted the mistakes. Then he read the comments. They were amazed at how well the boy was doing. Severus quietly agreed with them.

 

Six months ago that the doctors asked him to take on Timothy Fen. They had explained that Timothy had a memory disorder that kept having him returned back to them every time they fostered him and his sister, Elenora, out. He could learn, but then he could hardly recall the details that he learned more than hour later even though he remembered the bare bones of the information. They decided that he had retained the basics from before his condition became this bad, but it was just their thoughts as they did not have any records of when this problem began. Just to mess with their prognosis, Timothy would at weird moments be able to talk about things he had learned in the last several years just to forget them again.

 

It had taken him two weeks of almost hexing the boy before he decided to teach the child how to associate what he learned with other things like color, shapes or a gesture. He also taught him the bare basics of Legilimency in the form of organising his mind. You had to know what were your thoughts and how your thoughts formed before you could know someone else’s. He desperately wanted to use Legilimency on the boy to see what was going on in his head.

 

Timothy declared that the tricks were impossible. When Severus said that it wasn’t, Timothy had said that if he could get three Bs in a row using it, then Severus could stand since that wasn’t impossible either. It was then that their bargain had been struck.

 

Tim leaned over Severus’ shoulder, being careful not to mess up the scattered papers on the desk top. In a hushed awe tone he whispered to himself. “I did it. I didn’t think I could, but you never doubted in me.”

 

Severus reached up and rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder. He refused to let the brat know just how much he had doubted that either of them could have succeeded. Now he knew that there was a Ravenclaw’s ability hidden in that messed up brain. “All you had to do was put your mind to it.”

 

A tiny smile blossomed on Tim’s face. After months of scathing scolds this one compliment meant a lot. “If I make two ninety percents, you walk down the hall. Okay?”

 

Severus studied the distance between his bed and the chair where he was sitting. That space, though it was small, was an infinitesimal distance. One that he had conquered. Maybe the hall would be the next.

 

“With the use of a cane.” He looked out of the corner of his eye at Tim.

 

Tim nodded. “Deal. I use the tricks, you use a cane, and then we both can do the impossible!”

 

He moved around to stand before his mentor and held out a hand. Both smiled when they shook on the deal.

 

(Ô.Õ)

 

Severus was positive of Timothy’s Ravenclaw status four months later.

 

He had been quietly sitting at his desk, working on the potions research for the team that he had become a a member of months before the curse hit him, when Timothy had come bursting into his room. A quick glance over the materials on his desk proved that there was nothing too incriminating scattered about. The only thing would be the parchment he was writing on. Setting his fountain pen down, he waved the last line dry and let the parchment roll up.

 

“It is time!” Tim slapped two papers onto the desk. One was a test in his science class and the other was for his English class. Both calculated out to ninety percents.

 

Severus took a moment to go over the work to make sure that the teachers weren’t being lenient due to Timothy’s condition. Finding nothing to take more points for, he reached for his cane. “A walk down the hall it is. Shall we go see Nora and Min?”

 

“Nora is in Min’s room.” Tim bounced up and down before rushing to the door. Sticking his head out, Tim checked that no one else was in sight. “The coast is clear.”

 

Severus levered himself up to his feet. It was easier now that he had been practicing, but every movement required three quarters of his concentration. Leaning heavily on the cane, which was really just a long stick, he made his way out the door. The walk to Minerva’s room, which Timothy made in just a few seconds, took him five long arduous minutes.

 

Timothy kept running up and down the hall, checking to see if anyone was coming. He flung the door open and rushed in when Severus was next to it. “Min! Nora! Guess what?”

 

Two faces turned towards Timothy, one an ten year old girl, and one that was older than Severus’. Nora, his twin, smiled at him. “You passed another test. I’m glad that Toby is helping you.”

 

Tim’s smile broadened. “I did. And since I made two ninety percents...” Whatever he was going to say was cut off by Min’s gasp.

 

Severus stepped through the door and shut it behind him. Holding firmly onto his cane, he smirked at Nora’s wide blue eyes and Minerva’s amazed expression. “Min. Nora.”

 

“Toby had to walk down the hall!” Tim was able to finish as he pulled a chair over towards Severus. “And we were both able to do it because we’re T-N-T, dynamite!” He flung his hands wide as if there was an explosion.

 

Severus closed his eye for just a moment. That was one reference he wished the boy could forget. He glanced over at Minerva as her attention wandered off to the clock on her desk. “Min.”

 

Hazel eyes jumped back to him. “Toby.” A smile danced across Minerva’s face as he frowned at her. “You were able to walk down here. When did you succeed in that?”

 

“I have been practicing for a little while now. I wanted to surprise you by walking down to your room.”

 

Nora’s smile lit her face. “You succeeded. We were discussing how well Tim was working with you and Min was telling me just how strict you could be if you put your mind to it.”

 

“I can’t think of many students that you tried to help who have not succeeded.” Minerva cut in, her complete focus on Severus.

 

Severus smirked at her phrasing of that. They both knew that there were a number of students that he hadn’t bothered with for one reason or another.

 

They visited for another fifteen minutes in which Minerva’s attention only wandered twice. Once he was alone back in his room Severus marveled at how much improved she was. The curse that hit Minerva was a strong Confundus Charm, but the wizard had bungled. The mistake the man had made would have confused her brain enough to forget for an undetermined amount of time to complete basic functions such as breathing, or even the beating of her heart. His shield had blocked most of it, so the end result was that Minerva could not focus. At St. Mungo’s they had had her under constant watch. The muggle doctors decided that she was severe ADD, or was suffering from dementia.

 

Severus looked over at his closet. There, hidden deep within his trunk, was her wand. He had taken it from the Healers at St. Mungo’s when they left. _‘She couldn’t even focus long enough to cast a lumos. But then she met Nora just this last year, the same time Tim darkened my door. They had just been returned by a foster family that couldn’t handle them.’_

 

Nora and Minerva had met on the roof top. Severus had thrown a fit when he learned that Minerva had made it to the roof unsupervised. Tim had told him later that his sister had found Min on the roof and had stopped her from stepping close to the edge. They had both sat down somewhere up there and had a long conversation about fears and worry.

 

What had amazed Severus was that Minerva had stayed focused throughout the entire conversation.

 

What amazed Nora’s doctors was that the girl had opened up to Minerva. It was then that he learned that Nora was being treated for an obsessive–compulsive disorder which seemed to be triggered by her worry over how Timothy was treated. She had never really talked to any of the doctors about her fears or her anxiety. The doctors had latched onto this break through and started using Minerva as a means to work with Nora.

 

Severus had helped this out by telling them that Minerva used to hold a counseling position at a school. Which was true, as the Head of House, she had lots of practice counseling children.

 

There was a marked improvement in both of them. It took that to show him that St. Mungo’s was wrong, Minerva had a chance at getting better, and Severus started researching a potion to help.

 

Taking a deep breath, Severus hauled himself over to his desk to finish his letter to Matthew Reynolds, the Potions Master who was the lead of the team he worked with. He needed a few other resources.

 

(Ô.Õ)

 

Severus was frowning hard, his mind working as fast as it could deciphering the issue that Reynolds was having with their potion. There was something going on with the ingredients. Either it was a preparation issue, a timing issue or an ingredient issue, and it was his task to figure out possible solutions.

 

Tightening his fingers about his fountain pen, he leaned his head back onto his chair and stared out the window. It was at times like these when he needed to be in a lab. If he could just run through the steps of the potion, he would be able to decipher what was going on. _‘I could now. Minerva is getting better, and I can walk and sit. We don’t need to be here. I can move us into Spinner’s End and use the lab there.’_

 

He was jarred out of his thoughts by Tim rushing into his room.

 

“Toby?” Tim stopped near the door, his eyes wide and uncertain.

 

Severus glared at the boy. It was Saturday, his one day that no one bothered him. Not the nurses, doctors and not children. The only one who saw him was the dietician. The glare faded when he spotted the letter clutched in Timothy’s hand. It had a familiar green ink and a crest that Severus knew all too well. Shifting his gaze to the boy’s face, he raised an eyebrow and waited.

 

“Toby... this letter... I don’t know what to make of it.” Tim crossed the room holding out the folded parchment.

 

Holding out his hand, Severus wondered if Nora had received one as well. “Go get Min and Nora. If Nora received a letter as well, tell her to bring it.”

 

Timothy took off out the door.

 

Looking at the letter, Severus wondered where the person was that was supposed to explain all of this to the muggle families. _‘If Nora has one... there is no way they can stay here and go to Hogwarts. How will Nora react to the pressures there? Will Timothy be able to pass? He is showing promise now, but if he was there...’_ His thoughts ended when Tim returned with the others in tow.

 

“Nora, did you receive an unusual letter today?” Severus watched as Minerva settled on the edge of his bed.

 

Nora pulled an identical letter out of her pocket and handed it to Severus. “It’s just a prank letter, Toby. There is no such thing as a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

 

Minerva’s head jerked up from where she was straightening the covers.

 

“Minerva, I think this is your area of expertise.” Severus pulled his wand out and sent both letters to her before casting a series of privacy spells about the room.

 

Minerva waited until the two children finished watching him, the familiar letters smoothed on her lap. “A young wizard and witch. How wonderful.”

 

Tim and Nora looked over at her, surprised.

 

Severus enjoyed the how utterly focused Minerva was at through the entire conversation that followed.

 

They sent off the replies with the same owl that took Severus’ possible solutions to Reynolds.

 

(Ô.Õ)

 

The next morning Severus woke up, a game plan laid out in his mind. He would set it all up before telling the others, just in case it didn’t work. Putting both Muggle and Wizarding money in his pocket, he headed out. Using his newly transfigured cane and a disillusionment charm, he made it outside.

 

The pavement wasn’t very crowded, but it was more than enough for Severus. By the time he made it over to a deserted area, his heart was racing and he was feeling a bit wobbly on his feet. The push of the light crowds made him nervous. _‘There is no way am I going to be able to apparate.’_

 

Storing his pride back where it had resided for many years, he signaled for the Knight Bus, and paid the fare to go to London. Leaning back in the seat, he cast a quiet Sticking charm so he wouldn’t slide about.

 

After Minerva and the children left last night, he had hunted up the forms for what he had planned. Luckily the facility that they were staying at fostered and arranged for adoption of children. He would go through them, but there was no way that they would approve what he wanted to do.

 

Stepping carefully off the bus, he was grateful for the ramp that led up into the court. With a few judicial spells, it took him about three hours to do what would typically take eight months. When he hailed the Knight Bus once again, he was the legal guardian of Tim and Nora. He also had to paperwork set so that Minerva could be added if she wanted to.

 

He rode the bus to the Ministry of Magic. No one in the Muggle world knew who Tim and Nora’s parents were nor what happened to them. Both children suffered from partial amnesia when they were found. They had been around seven years old. He hoped to find out something while he processed the adoption at the Ministry.

 

Clutching his cane, he focused as hard as he could to make it to the wand check. The clerk barely glanced at the wand tag. Severus sank into the nearest seat and was heartily wishing he was finished with this.

 

After a ten minute break, he garnered his strength back up and continued down the hall towards Children Services.

 

A quick glance at the name plate gave him a starting point. “Miss Blanco.”

 

The frazzled witch looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “Afternoon, sir. How can I help you?”

 

Severus took a moment to transfigure the stool into an arm chair before he sat down. “I am here to process the adoption of two children. Their parents are unknown in the muggle world where they were raised, and I would like to ascertain if there is any information about them here. That information will not change the adoption.

 

The watery green eyes blinked a moment before the witch nodded. “Do you have the muggle forms?”

 

Severus slid them across counter.

 

Miss Blanco ran her wand tip over the Tim and Nora’s names and then flicked it towards the wall covered in filing cabinets. A folder flew out and landed on the counter next to her. Flipping it open, a happy smile filled her face. “You found them.”

 

Severus felt a tiny bit of doubt lodge in his chest. Were they missing children? Did they have family looking for them? “I take it you have information on their family?”

 

The witch pushed the folder over to him. “You can read that while I process the adoption papers.”

 

The first page of the folder told Severus what the root cause of Nora’s OCD was. There, in full color, was a picture of a man and a woman brutally murdered. Turning the picture over, he read the file. The criminals had been caught and had confessed to attempting to Obliviate a male child that was in the house while they were taking anything they could. He now understood what was going on with Tim’s memory. He didn’t know when Nora walked into the house, nor how they ended up in the Muggle system but he had enough to work with. He would give Minerva the details so she could work with Nora, and he would set up an appointment for Tim at St. Mungo’s to see what they could do for him.

 

“Here you go, Mr. Snape. Just sign here and here and you will be ready to go.”

 

Shifting his gaze, he read over the form the witch had sat next to the folder. Using a quill for the first time in twenty years, he signed his name.

 

“Here are their vault keys, and all their paper work. I wish you the best of luck.”

 

Severus shrank the scrolls and made sure the keys was deep in his pocket. “Thank you.”

 

Taking a moment, he prepared himself to get up. Once he was standing he changed the chair back.

 

As he walked out of the building, he knew that he had reached his end for the day. Signaling the Knight Bus, he headed back.

 

 

(Ô.Õ)

 

Severus didn’t remember much of the rest of that day. Tim had come for his tutoring, and he remembered asking the boy to go get his sister and Min when they were done. That was his last memory until the morning sun woke him up.   
  


Pushing himself up into an almost sitting position, he spotted a folded note on his side table. Opening it he read Minerva’s query about what he had done the day before and an order to take it easy today. There was a not so subtle threat to find Poppy and bring her to Severus’ bedside if he didn’t.

 

Setting that fear aside, he took stock of how he felt that morning. His muscles were tired, and he could feel the curse sitting like a malignant tumor in his back.

 

As he was deciding if he would have the energy to complete the rest of his errands, one of the attendants arrived with a wheel chair to take him down to breakfast. After forty years, he was still embarrassed to be dressed and moved into the chair to be wheeled to the cafeteria.

 

Minerva joined him at the small table. “What happened yesterday, Toby?”

 

 

Severus raised an eyebrow at the name, but let it go. “Errands. I have some I have to run today as well. Have those two and yourself packed.”

 

Minerva’s eyes narrowed. “We are leaving again?”

 

Severus looked about the room, watching all those that were starting to pay attention to their conversation. “I’ll give you all the details later.”

 

Minerva followed his gaze before she nodded, and they finished breakfast in silence. She rested a hand on his shoulder before she left. “Be careful.”

 

A few hours later found Severus in a small building near Gringotts frowning at the clerk who was looking down the list of customers.

 

“Number twenty five through number thirty, come with me please.”

 

Severus followed the clerk into the back room only to be turned over to another clerk.

 

“So, you want a house elf?” When the Severus nodded, she continued. “Any special requirements?”

 

Severus fought a frown; this process was annoying. “They should be decent with children, housework, and elderly.”

 

“This way, there might be one you are looking for in this room.” The girl opened a door off the corridor they were in. There, sitting around on miniature sized chairs were a group of house elves.

 

One sweeping glare and the group cringed. Tim would have them for breakfast. “Maybe a different room.”

 

The clerk looked up at the man before nodding slightly to herself. She would see if he would take one of the hard to place group. “Follow me.”

 

The next room was mostly empty. Three elves moved about looking bored. The clerk motioned Severus into the room and quickly shut the door so none of them could escape. She knew that this group would leave and possible wreck havoc on the calm house elves out there. “This is Mint, Caleb, Tony, and …” she paused her eyes darting about frantically looking for the last elf.

 

Severus looked over the three as he waited for her to finish panicking. This group was obviously intelligent and could get into a lot of mischief if they weren’t challenged enough. Mint was a cooking elf with the ability to lead a large kitchen and should be at some high class restaurant. She gave off the same vibe as Sage, the head cook of Hogwarts, did. Caleb looked to be one to run a stable or farm. He possible understood how to breed animals. He reminded Severus of Malfoy’s head stable elf. Tony he couldn’t quite tell what he would specialize in, but he knew that it wasn’t dealing with little children.

 

He caught sight of a fourth in the deep shadows near the door. Ignoring the panicking clerk, he walked over to him. The elf held himself with a bit of pride and Severus could see that this one had potential. He spoke softly so as not to disturb the clerk. “What is your name?”

 

Light brown bulbous eyes narrowed for a moment before the elf replied just as soft. “Payne. You should not be standing.”

 

Severus smirked. Just what he needed, a know-it-all elf with a name to match his disposition. He was sure that this elf could be a pain. “Payne, I am Severus Snape and am in need of an elf that can handle taking care of two children and an elderly witch while tending a small house.”

 

Payne’s gaze swept over the man. “And what of yourself?”

 

Raising an eyebrow, Severus refused to be put out by the elf’s demeanor. “I shall be there as well, but I am in complete charge of my facilities.”

 

The little elf folded his arms and sent a look at the cane before looking back at the tall wizard. “You shouldn’t be standing, but you are.” The statement was almost a scold. “A small house? Will I be in charge of cooking and cleaning? And how small of children?”

 

“The twins will be going to Hogwarts this year, and yes, cooking and cleaning. The place is not much smaller than the place we are in now. The twins can handle their own rooms.” Severus watched as a contemplative look settled on the little face. It looked completely out of place on a house elf. “I will also have a potions lab there. That will be my domain to take care of.”

 

Payne gave the wizard another quizzical look before nodding. “I know how to clean in delicate areas, if you give me instructions I can handle the lab.”

 

He now waited for the wizard to make the next move. He was anxious that this one would walk away also. He wanted a family, but all of them that had come by had been put off by his manner of speech and his forthrightness. This one didn’t seem to be.

 

Severus studied the small elf who reminded him of a bit of the three elves that were in charge of the dungeons of Hogwarts when he resided there. The main difference was that Payne had learned not speak in the normal house elf deferential tones. He wondered if that was the main reason this elf was here. “If you are willing to be my house elf, I am willing to instruct you on how to clean up a potions lab.”

 

Payne held out a hand to the tall wizard. When his was enveloped by the larger hand of his chosen master, he smiled. Even with the curse taint the man’s magic made him feel happy.

 

Severus glanced back at the clerk who was peering under small beds and into lockers. The other three elves seemed to be helping her, but to Severus it was obvious that they were keeping her attention away from where he and Payne were. “Should we let her know?”

 

There was a long pause before Payne nodded and signaled Mint.

 

Mint gave the clerk a large innocent look. “Mistress Suzy, ma’am, the man is wanting something?”

 

The clerk spun about to see what Mint was talking about. She stared at her client standing next to the elf she had been looking all over for. Every ounce of her frustration came out as she walked forward. “Payne! Where have you been?”

 

Payne stared in surprise when Master Snape moved between him and Mistress Suzy.

 

“He has been here the entire time. We have discussed my requirements, and have agreed that he shall be coming with me. What forms do we need to complete this transaction?” Severus scowled at the incompetent clerk.

 

Suzy jerked to a halt. The man wanted Payne? She wasn’t going to give him a chance to change his mind. “This way.” She swept out the door and called back over her shoulder. “Hold onto the elf until we get to the processing room.”

 

 

Severus looked down at the elf and raised an eyebrow. Hold onto the elf? Shaking his head, he walked out the door knowing that Payne would follow him.

 

The processing went as well as he expected, and once they stepped out he looked at the little elf. “The place is called Spinner’s End. We’ll take the Knight Bus there, and I will be back this evening with everyone else.”

 

Two hours later he was back at in his room, slumped on his bed, enjoying a moment of not focusing on anything but directing his things to pack.

 

Minerva, Tim and Nora came in as he shrank everything and levitated them up to him to tuck in a pocket. “Are you ready?”

 

Minerva took his chair and the twins sat on the foot of his bed. It was Minerva who spoke. “What is going on, Toby?”

 

Severus made eye contact with each one of them before casting a privacy ward on the door. “Tim and Nora need to learn what they can about the Wizarding world. They are going to Hogwarts next year and it would not do for them to be ignorant. They need to receive a strong foundation in their new world. And they can only do that if they are in it.” He tapped his fingers on the bedspread before he continued. “With that in mind, I am re-opening my old home.”

 

Minerva’s eyes widened. “You are taking them with you?”  
  


Severus raised an eyebrow. “I am taking all of us with me. I have adopted the two, with the ability for you to add yourself as one of their guardians. That will give us both the ability to take care of any issues that arise in their lives. As well as seeing their grades and classes.”

 

He barely got through the sentence before the shock wore off on the twins and he had two ten year olds hugging his neck. Balancing himself with one hand, he wrapped another around the two. He made eye contact with Minerva over their head, conveying that there was more he needed to tell her later.

 

At her slight nod, he tightened his arm around the two briefly before he let them go. “There is a house elf at Spinner’s End. His name is Payne and his is to be obeyed.” His look pinned the ecstatic children to the bed. “He will clean and help cook, but you will be responsible for your room, which tonight you will share. Now, Minerva, do we have everyone’s luggage packed?”

 

Minerva jerked her attention back to the three on the bed.

 

“Everyone is packed and ready to go?”

 

She nodded at Severus’ patient question.

 

“Tim, if you would check the hall? We shall go collect your things and leave.”

 

Thirty minutes later they were on the Knight Bus, heading for Spinner’s End.


	2. Brewing, Shopping, and Good byes

Percy Weasley walked slowly to the Headmaster's office. Since the Board's decision was owled to him that morning, he had been waiting for this summons, and he was very nervous about how he was going to be received.

As the stairs delivered him to the opened door, Percy made sure that he had his "dealing with idiotic Ministry officials" face on. "You wished to see me, Headmaster?"

"How - how do you - a first year teacher, barely wet behind the ears when it comes to dealing with children – how do you think you're qualified to be my Deputy!?" Headmaster Moreau's face was red as he yelled across the room at the Ancient Runes teacher who had yet to walk more than a step into his office.

Garnering the quiet courage that he had learned from his Dad, Percy walked the rest of the way into the office. "The Board of Governors believes I am capable of handling this position. I realize that there is a lot of work ahead of me, and I am ready to get started. What did the previous Deputy leave for me to accomplish this summer?"

"The _Board_ thinks you can?"

Moreau's mocking tone made no dent on Percy's temper, he had heard far better examples of mockery from his siblings. "Yes, sir, they do."

"They insisted that you teach here against my desires, and now they are pushing you up to the Deputy position with in a year. What next? Headmaster? Are you aiming to be the youngest Headmaster in the _entire_ history of Hogwarts'?"

Percy glanced at the portrait lined walls, wondering if he should tell Moreau that that title was already claimed. His eyes rested on Dumbledore's portrait just as the man was signaling him not to say anything. "I very seriously doubt that I would be qualified to be the Headmaster of this school so soon, sir. Now, about the forms and duties that I must be working on over this summer?"

The sign of approval from Dumbledore almost made him shake his head. Yes, it had been years since he felt the former-Headmaster was not to be listened to, but he had never expected to need his guidance, or his approval.

The current Headmaster glared at the unfazed redhead for a full minute before he answered. "The letters for the first years acceptance are coming in. Organize them and then I'm sure you can figure out what you are supposed to be doing. If not, ask the Board as they wanted you to do this. Now, get out of my sight."

Percy left the office not sure how he was going to make this work. He hadn't asked for the promotion, but he could understand it, through his reports, the Board learned that the last Deputy had only halfway preformed his duties. They trusted that he would do everything as by the book as possible. Hogwarts had to improve somehow.

"Professor Weasley."

Percy stopped as a portrait whispered his name. Turning towards it, he stepped closer. He didn't recognize the little girl who was peering around the edge of the frame waving him over. "May I help you?"

"The Headmasters said that they would send you messages to let you know what you need to do and not to worry."

A faint smile curled Percy's lip as he thanked her. He was receiving help he had not expected.

When the Board placed him here, they'd told him the reason he was chosen was because he was qualified to teach the subject and he understood about following regulations. Additionally, he had to find out what was undermining the students' ability to learn.

George had visited him that evening and told him that to succeed he was going to have to remember everything that he had learned in trying to outsmart him and Fred. He was going to have to be Head Boy Percy once again, by the book and upstanding on the outside, and the cunning mastermind that had learned how to almost corral his bothers on the inside.

Heading to his office, he prepared himself for the subterfuge ahead. The next level of the game was about to begin.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus blinked slowly, bringing last night's events into focus. He remembered everyone sitting in the surprisingly clean front room of his house, introducing Payne to them, and then sending the elf to the Leaky Cauldron to procure dinner. He had sent Minerva and the twins upstairs to check out the bedrooms while he took a moment to relax. He didn't remember Payne returning, nor lying in the bed that he was currently occupying. It took a moment to figure out that it wasn't a bed, but the sofa in his downstairs parlour.

Closing his eyes, he took a moment to gather his strength. The last few days had been a taxing, all he really wanted to do was not move, but he knew that he wasn't done. He had to go buy potions ingredients to restock his lab, then he had to brew the potion that he thought would help Minerva, while he was doing that, he would get Payne to watch all three. Nora and Tim would have a selection of books to read to bring them up to speed on some of the basics. He knew Minerva would help them as long as she could stay focused.

Before all of that, he had to send Payne out to restock the house, and he needed to get the electricity and water turned back on. No need to raise suspicion in the muggle neighborhood. Besides, it would provide a bit of normalcy for the twins.

' _But before that, I have to get off this sofa. I wonder where my cane is?'_ Finding his wand where it normally was, he summoned his cane. Payne appeared right behind it.

"Master Snape, you should be resting." The elf folded his arms and watched as the stubborn man pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"I have too much to handle to be lazing about, Payne." Severus pulled out his wizarding money sack. "I need you to restock the house with food and cleaning supplies."

He looked about the small parlour and came to a decision. He knew that the stairs up to the bedrooms would be too much for him on a regular basis. "I also need this room furnished to be my bedroom. There is a storage room upstairs, put all that is in it into the attic and furnish that room as one of the twin's room."

Severus checked the amount that was in the sack before taking a bit out for his own shopping trip. He then passed the bag over to the elf. "Food first, so everyone can eat breakfast. The rest can be finished by tomorrow or the day after."

Payne accepted the bag, grumbled that Snape should stay put, and popped away.

After collecting himself, Severus headed for the downstairs powder room and then to survey his old lab to see what was salvageable. A quick spell changed the stairs into a spiral ramp and he headed into his cellar.

(Ô.Õ)

Breakfast was good. Severus was glad that Payne could honestly cook. While they were eating he explained his plan for the next couple of days. The three had agreed, after he had answered a number of questions about what potions were.

Later that afternoon found him in his lab sitting in a high back chair, his table lowered by magic, cutting up the ingredients that he thought would work.

Evening had come by the time he had one possibility cooling on his table and he was confronted by an irate elf who insisted that he needed to eat dinner. After dinner he had Minerva sign and send in the guardianship papers and told her in private what he had learned about the twins' family.

He fell into bed that night, ideas still swimming through his mind. The next morning, Minerva tried the potion, and Payne was on strict orders to find Severus if anything unusual occurred. Severus retired to his lab to make another possibility. The rest of the week passed the same way. Severus tweaked his formula based on Payne's and the twins' reports, and on the behaviors he saw himself at dinner time. The week ended with a potion that Minerva had to take every morning at breakfast and a different one at dinner.

The next day, Severus smiled as the professor he remembered well was sitting Tim and Nora down to work with them on basic wizard history and the things that all wizarding children learned while growing up.

It was with mixed feelings that he retreated to his lab once again. He had spent as much of the morning as he could with the twins, helping them with their studies while Minerva watched him shaking her head. He had double checked the paperwork in his desk drawer. His will was there, signed and witnessed, the house would go to the twin with permission for Minerva to stay until she didn't want to. The rest of his possessions were divvied up to the people who needed them, his potions to Matthew Reynolds and the rest of his Team, and every thing else to the twins and Minerva. He had handled it while he was out getting potion ingredients. He knew the risk he was about to take.

Closing the door behind him, he made sure that it was soundproof. There could be no distractions, the last time he had attempted to brew this potions was before he was cursed – and that was only the fifth time he had done so successfully. After summoning his notes, he laid them across the work table and spelled them so that they would not move nor become dirty. Carefully setting out the ingredients in an order that was more familiar to his mind than his hand, he took a deep breath and started.

Time passed in a haze of chopping, dicing, mincing, crushing, precise stirring patterns, and heat manipulations. A smile filled his face as after each step his current potion matched the description in his notes. _'Matthew had attempted to make this, even after the rest of the potions community and the healers all refused to, but he said that there were preparation techniques that he couldn't replicate. His attempts never matched my descriptions.'_ Wonderment filled his eyes as he noticed that the potion's opalescent sheen, it was better than before. It was what he had striven for all those years ago. Every time there was a hint of the sheen the more the potion passed the tests he ran on it. _'Of course Matthew had some problems, he isn't privy to as many muggle methods as I am.'_

It was early evening when he finished; decanting the liquid into a small vial he sealed it before casting a charm to make the vial unbreakable and placing it into his pocket. He remembered all too well when he was first practicing his walking how he would drop cups, paper, and books as he tried to catch himself from falling. The worst was when there was no way to avoid falling, and breaking everything that he had with him. It had only taken one incident for him to learn to charm everything so that it would survive.

Severus made sure to savor dinner with everyone before he headed to his room. It might be the last time he saw them. _'No negative thoughts - this is going to work, Severus. It will remove the curse and all will be fine.'_ When he made it to his room, he called Payne to him.

Payne knew that something was about to happen, Master Snape was never in bed this early. "You wished to see me?"

Severus stretched out on his bed, dressed as comfortably as possible and cast a silencing charm and locked his door. Forcing his voice to stay level, hiding his own misgivings, he nodded to Payne. "I am going to take a potion. It has two possible effects. One is it will remove a significant amount of this curse from me, possible all. The second is that I could die. If the second happens, you are to take care of those three. All the paperwork that they need is in the top drawer of my desk."

Light brown eyes widened. "Master..." His protest was cut off by a glare, so he changed what he wanted to say. "When shall I know?"

Severus sighed. Just that one statement said that Payne would be in to check on him. "I don't know. But do not let the others know what is going on."

When the elf nodded, Severus drank the potion and settled onto his bed.

(Ô.Õ)

Payne made sure that the house ran smoothly for the next several days. He assured Min that he was taking care of Master Toby, as everyone called Master Snape. And he did; he washed the sweat away, poured soup down the man's throat and coaxed him to swallow, and monitored his vital signs.

Late in the evening of the fourth day after everyone else was asleep, Payne was greeted with the sight he wanted to see. Dark eyes were opened and searching about the room.

"Master Toby."

Severus frowned at the name but decided it wasn't worth the fight. He rolled his head over to peer through the low light at the small elf. "Payne. How long?"

"Four days, sir." Payne watched as the tired eyes closed briefly and a trembling hand ran through the sticky hair.

"Have they been worried?" Severus could feel the tendrils of excitement and relief buried under the exhaustion. He was alive – option two didn't happen. They might have been worried that he had disappeared for four days, but they were not going to be presented with a dead body. Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure how Minerva would have handled that.

"Mistress Min said that she would be pulling you out of your lab tomorrow if you didn't leave it yourself."

Severus wondered if he would have the strength to leave his room tomorrow. He felt as if he had just come back from a Death Eater meeting that had gone horrible wrong. He would find a way though. He'd rather face Minerva standing not trapped in his bed.

"Master Toby, how about a bath while I change the bedding?"

Severus raised a tired eyebrow at the elf. "Where? It is late," he gestured towards the dark windows. "And everyone would wake up if the bath was run."

With a snap of his fingers, Payne floated a claw footed bathtub in front of the fireplace. Another snap had it filled with warm water. "You said to furnish the room."

Severus tried to push the covers off him, only to find out that he was too weak to do so. Growling low in his throat, he stared at his arms, hoping he hadn't made his condition worse – he was tired of being a burden.

It took Payne just a moment to have Severus in the tub, soaking in the water. A flannel was charmed to scrub him while the bedding was stripped and replaced. Payne soon had him in new nightclothes and back in bed. "Now you need to sleep. I will see you tomorrow, Master Toby."

It was almost noon when Severus opened his eyes again. He took a moment to test his arms, and was glad when he was able to move the covers. Picking up his wand, he cast a simple diagnostic, one that he had done more times than he could remember, and watched the results.

Letting his wand drop onto the mattress, he closed his eyes in relief. _'The curse is gone. Now, can I get out of this bed?'_

Keeping his eyes closed he accessed himself. He was exhausted physically, but magically he was normal - _better_ since he wasn't having to use his magic to block the curse. A smiles curled his lips. He had done it. He had created and successful brewed a curse removal potion. Severus could tell that the potion had done what it was supposed to – the dark mass that had resided so long was gone. Not a tendril or a thread left. _'And they said it couldn't be done. That it wasn't worth attempting to brew it.'_

Gingerly he pushed himself to a sitting position and then growled. The potion removed the taint but it obviously couldn't reverse the damage it had caused over time. Anger boiled up through him. If the healers had just agreed all those years ago! If they had just listened when he ordered them to get him into a lab and stick him to a chair and let him brew there would be no residual damage.

He stewed for the next several minutes before he let it go. He had learned over the last several years not to let the anger burn up his energy, he had too many things to accomplish. The first being getting out of that bed and reassuring Minerva and the twins that he was fine.

(Ô.Õ)

Tim was the first one to jump off the sofa when Severus came out of his room, leaning lightly on his cane. "Uncle Toby! Where have you been?"

Minerva took in the way Severus held his shoulders, his stance, and the lack of almost painful concentration on his face. "You... you made a potion for yourself, didn't you?"

Severus meet Minerva's widening knowing eyes. He returned it with a look that let her know that he didn't want to make a big deal out of it before he crossed the room heading for the kitchen. "Yes, I did. And it mostly worked."

The look on Minerva's face told him he would be hearing about this much later. When he stepped into the kitchen, Payne pointed him to the table, and then floated a plate of food to him. The others joined him for lunch.

"How are you doing in your studies?" Severus looked at the twins waiting for a answer.

"It's hard and Aunt Min goes too fast." Tim frowned as he pushed his food about on his plate.

Nora shook her head. "They're going fine."

Severus focused on Tim. He was worried about how the boy would do at Hogwarts. He was going to have to work extra hard and without the support system he was used to. The set of Tim's shoulders said not to talk about that yet. "When did Min and I become Aunt and Uncle?"

Tim's head shot up. That wasn't the question he had expected. "Aunt Min said we could call you that, since you adopted us, but we couldn't see calling you Father or Dad and her Mother or Mum. You're not married - you don't have to be married to be our Aunt and Uncle."

"That is well reasoned out. Since I am now your uncle and Min is your Aunt, know that we expect you to work harder than you ever have before. You have a lot of information that you have to learn before you go to Hogwarts. And once there, you are going to be on your own unless you make friends that can help you." At the panicked looks on both of their faces, Severus sighed lightly. "You can always send us an owl to ask for advice, but it will take time for our response to make it back to you."

The two relaxed a bit and nodded. Tim spoke up. "So, instead of the summer off, I have to work extra hard so I have all the basics down before I get there - that way I don't have to playing catch up the entire time."

Minerva leaned onto the table as she poured her another drink. "We shall endeavor to make the lessons as fun as we can, and we shall schedule a holiday in."

She looked over at Severus. "When shall we take them to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies?"

"Give me three days."

(Ô.Õ)

The next three days passed fairly quickly.

The first evening, Severus gave Minerva back her wand. He remembered it when he was searching for something in his trunk and they all watched as she cast a cautious light spell followed by a levitation one.

The next day, the twins found themselves in Severus' lab learning about the different types of equipment used to make basic potions. Severus reached above his head to pull the stack of his smallest cauldrons down to show them to the two. At that moment, his legs gave out on him and the cauldrons came tumbling down onto him.

Tim and Nora's screeches brought both Minerva and Payne into the room. Payne quickly levitated the cauldrons off and onto the table while Minerva ran a quick check over him.

"I'm okay, Min. Just a mild concussion, a few bruises and a headache." Severus said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He was glad that Minerva didn't know about the number of times he had fallen or just barely collapsed into a seat while he was getting everything prepared for their move. He was still learning the warning signs and his limits.

"You will sit right there for a few minutes, Toby."

Severus settled down as Minerva's stern look bore into him. When his legs stopped feeling weak, he pushed up to his feet. Using the wall and the counter edge, he made his way to his potions cabinet. It took no time to pull out two potions and down them.

"Uncle Toby?" Nora watched him as he drank a blue and then a green liquid. "What are those for?"

"The blue one is for the concussion, and the green for my headache. You will not go into my potions cabinet. It is locked, so don't try." Severus closed his eyes while he waited for the two to take effect.

"Why were you reaching up for those cauldrons anyway, Toby?" Minerva gave him another assessing look and decided that he would be okay if he just would sit down for a moment.

"Because Tim and Nora need to see the size and material difference." Severus peeled his eyes open and pushed off the wall.

Minerva shook her head. "You've lived too long as a Muggle. Use magic next time. And sit down." She pointed to his chair.

Severus sat down and started to explain about the different cauldrons.

The third day was spent practicing Apparating. Both Severus and Minerva had to make sure that they could do it without splinching themselves. Both were heartily glad that they easily succeeded.

(Ô.Õ)

On the morning of their shopping trip, Minerva shrank both Nora and Tim a set of robes to wear. She and Severus spent ten minutes going over what to do if they were separated, and places to be avoided at all cost unless they were with either of them.

As they passed through the Leaky Cauldron, Severus and Minerva watched the twins' expressions. The looks of wonderment made both of them smile lightly. They paid even closer attention to them when Severus opened up the passage to Diagon Alley and Severus' smile gave way to a subtle grin as he noticed that they were both focused on the cauldrons stacked up outside of Potage's.

"Books first." Minerva started down the Alley with a brisk pace, heading for Flourish and Blott's. She wasn't more than twenty steps when she heard Nora calling her.

"Aunt Min! Slow down."

Tuning about, Minerva's admonishment to pick up the pace died on her lips. The two were being careful to walk next to Severus, who was watching the crowd warily behind the glare that he was sending them. Minerva stopped and smiled at the girl. "Thank you, Nora."

They entered Flourish and Blott's with a large number of other students and their families. Minerva led them over to a less crowded section of the store. "Now, your materials list, please. It will have the books that are required on it."

Even as she looked down at Nora's, she heard Severus' snort. She just raised her eyebrow at the book for transfigurations.

"We shall be supplementing these books." Severus caught Minerva's eye. "If you take Nora into that press of people to get their required books - Tim can stay with me. I will pick up your standard one as well as the supplement that Filius swore by. They will need a different potions book as well. You did notice that they are no longer requiring the _Standard Book of Spells_?"

The disgruntled look that crossed Minerva's face showed that she did. "I don't know what the teachers were thinking, that was the primary book for Charms and the supplement for Defense and other classes."

Severus sighed. "I'll see if I can find them. I hope that the new books at least explain the material as well. Head on, we need to get moving."

Giving a nod, she turned about and headed into the crowd with Nora at her side.

Severus looked at the books that he was standing next to and spotted years one through seven of _The Standard Book of Spells._ He picked up the last two sets while he tried to figure out why the school had stopped using them. Glancing over at Tim, he smirked at the boy who was engrossed in one of the books off the shelf. "Put that one down. I need you to go find _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch. It should be a couple shelves over. Repeat the name, Tim."

"A Beginner's Guide to... Transfiguration." Blue eyes were obviously focused on the memory. "Emery Switch."

"Emeric not Emery. Good, go find it." Severus watched as Tim headed off in the right direction. A quick glance at the list show that they were still requiring the _Magical Theory_ book and _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. Moving down the shelf, he spotted the basic potion book he wanted. Adding it to his pile, he could feel his legs start to ache lightly. Growling lightly, he ignored them and moved to get the _Magical Draughts and Potions_ that he knew they were going to need. The explanations were clearer than the one that was on the list.

Tim came walking back with five books at the same moment Minerva and Nora returned. Minerva took one look at Severus and pulled a broken quill out of her robe and transfigured it into a chair. "Sit while we make sure that we have everything we need."

She ignored Severus' glare as he settled in the chair. "Nora and I have all the books on the list. Severus, did you find the _Standards_?"

Severus gestured to the stack next to him. "They look to be the last two complete sets, so we should get the entire collection. Tim, did you find the books that I requested?"

Tim held out two of the five books he was holding. "They had two copies, Uncle Toby. I grabbed both just in case you wanted us to have our own."

"And what else did you find?"

Tim held out the other three books. " _How to Remember: A Guide to Memory Tricks, The Color of Magic,_ and _Hogwarts: A History._ I thought Nora might like the last one and the other ones sounded useful."

Severus pointed to the stack. "I'll go through the memory guide one with you."

Standing up he looked from the chair to Minerva. "I think it is time to move on."

With a quick swish and flick, they both floated the stacks of books over to the counter. Severus then summoned Payne to take them home.

At Potage's Severus bought both the copper cauldron on the list and the pewter one that he thought was the better one to start with. Minerva insisted that they have an owl, so they had stopped by Eeylopes. They stopped at Madam Malkin's for the school robes and sets of informal ones as well.

Olivander's wand shop was the only place that someone recognized either Snape or McGonagall. Severus spotted the glint of welcome and knowledge in Olivander's eyes as he was measuring Tim. He was surprised that they weren't questioned.

Throughout the trip Minerva would transfigure a chair for Severus when she felt he needed it. Slugs and Jiggers was the only place she couldn't convince him to sit.

By time they made it home, all three were tired.

(Ô.Õ)

The summer passed quietly at Spinner's End. Nora and Tim worked hard each day so that they were a bit ahead and ready to go. Severus learned his limits and to push them only to a point. He spent hours quietly modifying a potion to help push those limits further. Minerva learned that her potions were not to be ignored or forgotten. There were only two major events that broke up the restful atmosphere. A trip to the beach and one to St. Mungo's.

It had taken a long conversation with Minerva to decide how to broach the subject of what had happened to the twins' parents with them, but it had to be done so that they could explain why Tim needed to be seen by a Memory Charm Specialist at St. Mungo's. Also, it would give Minerva a chance to work with Nora on the bases of her fear and possibly finally end her cycling bouts with her OCD.

Severus motioned both of the children to sit down before doing so himself. Minerva paced back and forth in the background. They had decided that Severus should explain why he hadn't told them what he had learned before now.

"Nora, Tim I have some news that will interest you." Twin blue eyes sent him inquiring looks. "While I was filing your adoptions at the Ministry of Magic, I learned part of your past."

"So, we are from a Wizarding family, Uncle Toby?" Nora clenched her fingers in her lap. She relaxed a bit when Minerva rested a hand on her shoulder.

Severus nodded. "I should have informed you before, but I did not wish you to be concerned about the possibility of being removed from us by a relative. The time period for contesting the adoption has now expired. As no one came forward, I do not know if you have any living relatives."

Tim started to shake slightly. "Mum and Dad really are dead aren't they?"

When Severus and Minerva nodded yes, the twins grasped each other's hands and looked at each other. They nodded, and Nora spoke for both of them. "We don't want to know any more. Not now. Uncle Toby, you and Aunt Min are our guardians and that is all that matters."

Minerva met Severus questioning look and nodded. It would be fine for them not to know. She would work with Nora and reveal things only as needed.

Severus looked at his two charges and sighed lightly. "There is one other thing you have to know. Tim was hit with a spell and it is what has caused his memory issues. We need to take him to see a specialist to see if there is anything that they can do for him."

"Do you think that I can be better like Aunt Min? Or kind of better, like you?" Tim's voice shook slightly.

"I don't know," was the only answer that came.

Severus and Tim were sitting in St. Mungo's three days later. Severus kept waiting for one of the healers to recognize him and make a scene. But not one did. The specialist didn't even confirm anything more than that he was Tim's guardian, and Tim answered her. "Uncle Toby adopted me. So he can be in here, right?"

The blonde healer blinked and shrugged. "If you feel the need for him to be present, then of course your uncle can stay."

Severus stared at the healer, trying not to go off into a scathing rant about minors and the need to be positive that they are there with a legal guardian. If it wasn't for the fact that she was on the memory charm specialist ward, he would have taken Tim out of there. Instead he made sure to settle in a chair that let him see everything that she was doing.

Several diagnostic spells later, the healer had turned a sad gaze at the waiting uncle. "He won't remember this shortly. I'm amazed that he knows who you are."

Severus scowled at her. She obviously couldn't tell the work that they had been doing, or the memory tricks didn't show up on the diagnostic. "I am aware of that. Now, is there anything that can be done."

She shook her head. "We can put him in the ward where we can monitor him. Maybe a wit-sharpening potion, but it's his long-term memory that's affected. However the damage is so extensive... I just cannot see him gaining much function back at all. How long has he been like this?"

"Almost five years. I do not know if he was previously treated for this condition. Tim only came into my care during the last month." That much information was in the public record for all to read. He was not going to expound on it since she was obviously not professional enough to verify who he was. He didn't trust her with any more information, it was private and he intended it to remain that way. He would quietly contact the lead healer for the ward and discuss Tim's case with them. Folding his arms he glared at her, he didn't need the sympathy he could see filling her face as he waited to see what else she would say.

"I can understand your desire to leave him here with us -"

Tim stared at Uncle Toby, fearful eyes searching the pale face. Was he really going to be returned again? But Uncle Toby adopted him. _'But that was before he knew that there was no help for me.'_ His eyes widened as Uncle Toby moved.

Severus shot to his feet and glared down at the healer. " _I did not_ say that I was leaving Tim here. He _will_ be coming home with me." He caught the fear fading off the boy's face. "Is there anything else you can tell me about his condition?"

"Nothing right now." Her voice came out as a soft squeak.

"Fine." Severus turned to the pale face boy sitting on the bed. Narrowing his eyes, he made sure that Tim was focused on him. "It's time to go _home_ , Tim. Nora and Min will wish to know the outcome of this misadventure."

' _Home, I'm going home. He's keeping me!'_ Tim slipped off the bed and moved right next to his adopted uncle. "I'm ready, Uncle Toby."

Severus slipped his hand around Tim's and squeezed it reassuringly.

As they left, the healer was certain she would be seeing that little boy in the wards soon enough.

When Tim and Severus made it home, Severus asked for permission to use Legilimency on Tim, one quick peek told him everything he needed to know at that moment. The boy's mind was covered in a grey fog, _much like the thick pea soupers that used to cover London_. The colors and tricks acted like beacons in the fog, allowing Tim to find the information. The reason he was able to function and remember the basics of the day, Severus attributed to Tim storing that information below the fog level, where he didn't actively access it, but just reacted to it.

(Ô.Õ)

Percy rested his head in his hands. Summer was almost done. Today was the day that the rest of the professors learned that he was Deputy Headmaster, and it had gone about as well as his meeting with the Headmaster.

He glanced at the stacks of parchment on his desk, there was still a good bit he had to complete. Pulling out his summer to-do checklist, he wondered how much of this was honestly the Deputy's responsibility. He suspected that part of the list was actually the Headmaster's duties, the old Headmasters knew they weren't being done by Moreau.

Sighing, he reorganized his desk in order of priority. He smiled when he spotted the letter from his family and his smile widened as he remembered the scolding that Mum and the others had given him when he had told them that he wouldn't be taking a holiday. George and Ron had popped in and kidnapped him. It was the most fun week he had had in a long time.

Setting the letter into the top drawer of his desk, he headed out to complete the next item on the checklist.

(Ô.Õ)

The goodbyes at King's Cross Station were heartfelt and filled with a lot of reassurance, if you knew how to see it.

"Stop clinging." Severus glared down at Tim as the boy was attempting to burrow into his robe.

Stepping back, Tim wiped his eyes and put on a brave face. Part of him knew that Uncle Toby and Aunt Min were not getting rid of them, but the part that had been rejected time and time again was afraid. "We can come home?" His voice was soft and shaky.

It was Minerva that answered him. "At Christmas time and the end of the school year."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You also have your owl."

Nora watched the two adults with wide fearful eyes. "You won't forget us, will you?"

Both Nora and Tim waited, fearful of what the answer was. When Uncle Toby crossed his arms and glared at them and Aunt Min's lips pressed thin, they relaxed. The only time they got those looks was when they were being excessively stupid.

Nora smiled. "We'll owl you to let you know our house." At Uncle Toby's raised eyebrow, she amended her statement. "Or houses."

With a quick wave, the two boarded the train. Severus and Minerva faded into the background as they watched the unfamiliar and familiar faces wishing students goodbye.

The next morning, Minerva opened the letter that came in at lunch time.

Severus' quill stopped moving over the journal that he was marking up. "Well?"

"Nora made it into Gryffindor. I thought she would be a Hufflepuff, but I am more worried about Tim. He was put in Ravenclaw. How is he going to survive in there with his memory disorder?" Minerva shot a concern look over at Severus.

"He can do it. He might not be the best and brightest in the group, but he will be fine. And Nora will be just as fine in Gryffindor. She might get them to think before they act." Severus smirked as he returned to his journal.

Minerva shook her head before setting the letter over next to Severus' elbow. "Are you going to meet up with that potions master that you were talking about?"

Severus jotted a few more words down. "I'm going to meet with him tomorrow."

(Ô.Õ)

It was a week later, and Severus was wondering why he had agreed to do this again.

He had met up with Matthew Reynolds at the Leaky Cauldron as they had arranged. Matthew told him at the end of their meeting that he had been expecting it to be a representative for him and that he had been shocked speechless when Severus had crossed the room to join him.

That meeting was the reason he was here. The potions team that he was a member of was having difficulty understanding the preparation technique he had described in his last missive. So, now he was standing, hand clutching his cane, outside of a Wizard hotel for a potions conference.

Moving carefully into the foyer of the hotel, Severus looked about for Matthew. He finally spotted the man near the main stairs. Scanning the area, Severus hoped to see a lift, but there wasn't one in sight. Tightening his fingers on the head of his cane, he plotted his route through the sea of people carefully. It took him a couple of moments to cross the hall, and halfway there he noticed that Matthew was watching him, patiently waiting.

"Matthew." He nodded a greeting as the man smiled at him.

"Severus." Matthew turned towards the stairs. "The convention is on the second floor. I moved our rooms down so that they are on convention level."

Severus looked up the stairs, this was going to take him forever. No matter how much better he was, stairs were hard. Grasping the hand rail securely he started up them slowly, making sure that he feet were solidly placed.

Matthew noticed how much effort it was taking his friend to climb the stairs and slowed down his pace. When they reached the top, he nodded towards a bench. "Can we take a moment? I want to show you the time line and layout of the convention."

He barely caught the brief flash of gratitude that moved over Severus' face. Settling on the bench next him, he unrolled a parchment. "Since you are here as my guest, your name is not on the list of attendees. That should stop us being swamped by people wanting to see you. I want you to be up there when we present our latest potion, though."

Severus read over the list of attending Masters and their talks before scanning the map for areas that were going to give him difficulties. "You said that you moved our rooms to convention level?"

Matthew nodded. "It wasn't that hard to do. They haven't changed the rule for invited guests," He grinned at the knowing look tossed his way. Both the guest and their invitee's rooms had to be adjacent or as near as possible. " and the two closest to each other just happened to be on this level." He did a quick time check and looked at Severus to gauge if he was ready. "Let's head into the dinning area and I'll introduce you to the rest of the team."

Using the bench arm and his cane, Severus pushed himself up to his feet. "Lead the way."

The room was filled with large round tables with white table cloths draped over them, almost touching the floor. As they walked through, Severus noted that the room was only filled to half capacity, and he was able to pick out a couple of faces that he knew. They stopped near a table that was in the far left hand side at the edge of the crowd of tables.

"So, this is the guest you decided to bring at the last moment." Thomas looked over the tall man who was next to Matthew and stood up. "I'm Thomas Paul, it is a pleasure to met you."

Severus took in the long blond hair that was pulled back and bright green eyes before he shook the man's hand. He smirked lightly. "So, you are the newest member of the team?"

Thomas shot a look over at Matthew before focusing back on the guest. To be called new was almost an insult, as if he knew nothing and was not yet contributing to the group. "Yes, though I've been with this group for nigh on thirty years."

Matthew stepped in to complete the introductions. "The gentleman to Thomas' right is Christopher Gilbert. Continuing around is Phillip Merrybrook, Alexander Cook, and Terry Michaels."

Severus matched the faces to the names and handwritings of each man. Christopher was thin, light brunette and had a copperplate script. Phillip was a bit heavy set with a florid complexion which matched his bold handwriting. Alexander was well built dark skin man with handwriting of a first year. Terry had pale blue eyes and insipid looks that were at odds with the rich stylization of the man's handwriting.

Matthew noticed that Severus was leaning a bit heavily on his cane. It was time to finish his introductions and get them seated. "Gentleman, this is the last member of our team, Severus Snape."

Terry broke the silence that had fallen over the table as they stared at Severus. "You're standing. And walking... how?"

Matthew gestured for everyone to sit down before he turned to Severus. "I would like the answer to that as well. I noticed that you patented two potions in your own name this summer and submitted one as an inventor's notice, was it one of those?"

Severus looked about the room before drawing his wand and casting a quick _Muffliato._ "Do you remember the potion that I wished to brew when I was first hexed?"

Matthew's eyes widened. "You did it. You brewed it yourself and then used it."

Alexander cut in. "We tried and tried to get it to work, but nothing seemed right."

"You couldn't have patented it with just one successful test, it must be the one you put on inventor's notice." Phillip smiled. "So, how about we take that inventor's notice and patent."

Severus looked over the others at the table. "Each of you tried to brew it?"

Christopher aggrieved face said it all as he answered. "We did. All but Thomas, he wasn't with us yet. You were a friend of Matthew, and he needed help, so, we tried." He left unsaid that Severus was part of their Team.

Severus held each of their gazes for a moment. "Thank you for attempting. Yes, that is the potion that is on inventor's notice. If you wish to take it up, we can fit onto our list of potions."

As the group nodded, he let his lips curl just a bit into a smile. "Matthew asked me to met with you to show you the preparation techniques that I was attempting to describe in my last letter."

Thomas laughed and then stopped, his eyes widening. "You are in a lab somewhere, that's why your letter was more to the point."

Five sets of eyes pinned Severus to his seat. "Yes, I have a lab in my home, and now that I can access it, I can test my possibilities before sending them to you.

Phillip grinned. "You have to come by the labs and work with us sometime. We are a Team."

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Severus considered the group. They were smart, cautious and discreet, he knew that from their years of correspondence. "As long as there is no media hype, and no crowds of people begging for my attention, I shall stop by."

Alexander leaned in towards Severus. "Maybe you could help me to convince the rest of the group to take on an impossible potion. I want to make a skele-gro potion that you can take a painkiller potion with, but they keep stopping the idea." He shot the rest of the group a friendly glare.

A movement at the main table caught Severus' attention. "I'll think about it." A quick gesture canceled the Muffliato _._

(Ô.Õ)

After the welcoming speech, dinner was served. The conversation while they were eating brought the friendships that were developed through years of correspondence to another level. It wasn't until after dinner that the other people started moving to different tables.

Phillip watched as a group of masters made their way towards their table. A quick glance at Severus showed that the elusive Potions Master was jotting notes, just as he had been on and off since dinner had been served. Phillip was sure that Severus didn't want to deal with the public knowing about him right now. They were going to have to work to keep their partner's identity hidden. "Quagmire's team is heading over here. They have their own guest with them. Does anyone know who she is?"

Everyone looked over at the approaching group and Severus frowned.

"Quagmire's pet project." Matthew glared at the woman. "He keeps trying to find a team for her to join into but no one is having her. I don't know her name, so he is going use that to make us introduce Severus."

Severus shook his head. "No. I do not want my name bandied about right now. I would prefer this not to become a spectacle. There are a few here I would like to speak with, but I will approach them later."

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "How are we going to keep from doing that? None of us knows her name, and it is only polite to introduce the unknown. Now, we know that you aren't... worried about polite..."

The small smirk that slipped on Severus' face made him slightly worried, but he couldn't say anything more since Quagmire's group was in hearing distance.

"Reynolds, I am surprised to see that there are six of you here. Who is your guest?" The pudgy brown haired man rested a questioning look on the bent head of the unknown man.

Severus turned his head just enough to make eye contact with Matthew.

Matthew read the silent demand in them. He knew that the potions community would fall on Severus like a pack of rabid animals. He was their hero - the only living Potions Master who was also a decorated War Hero. Add to that the fact that he had made a potion that had countered the curse he was hit with, the curiosity would draw everyone to their table.

"Who my guest is is of no account." He ignored the multiple coughs and sneezes that were masking laughs and snorts from his own Team members. "Who did you bring with you this year?" Matthew shot Severus a look that told his friend that he owed him one.

Quagmire's grin broadened, this group needed to round out their team. "Finally decided to cut off the dead wood. If your Sixth can't come to help present their potion, you don't need them anymore?"

Severus wasn't sure how his team counted its members, they never referred to each other by their numbers. There were two choices, either by importance or by joining date. Most teams counted by joining date, but there was an off chance that his team counted him as their Sixth since he was never in the lab with them. He tightened his fingers on his quill as he cast an unseen look at the others, but his grip relaxed when he noticed just how much his team was discounting the man's suggestion.

Thomas leaned back. "I'm here, and I've been coming to the conventions for years. Surely you remember?"

The man at Quagmire's right shoulder gasped. "You're the Sixth? But you've been with this team for decades."

Christopher caught Thomas' resigned but proud look. "Our team hasn't changed members in thirty years. We finally got the combination right when we added Master Paul."

Severus caught Thomas' gaze. "I'm sure he brought some much needed insight and skills to the group. I believe you were saying that he studied in Asia for a while before he came to the UK?" Severus felt his team still and try not to stare at him as he returned his attention to his notes he had been making throughout dinner.

Thomas fought the grin that was trying to erupt on his face. When Severus had been introduced, he had felt the sting of the man's greeting comment all the more. Now though, Severus was validating his place in the team -the same man that wrote scathing comments about everyone's intelligences all over their ideas!

"Then who is your unseen member?" Asked Quagmire's guest. "If they can't even make it to the presentation convention, what use are they to the group?"

Severus waited to hear the answer to that. Just how did the group view his usefulness? It was a question that had plagued him for years, but had never asked.

The rest of the team leveled the girl and then the other Team with a flat, almost condescending stare before Matthew spoke up. "Our Second _cannot_ be replaced. He is innovative, driven, has the ability to look at a problem from multiple perspectives, and has a way of making you do what needs to be done, to think harder and in ways that you've never done before. That he has been unable to join us at these meetings is not a problem to our group."

The cold, no nonsense tone surprised Severus. Matthew never spoke like that. Looking at his team through his hair, he was amazed at the complete agreement on each of their faces. He felt for the first time in decades as if he was truly a needed member.

Quagmire felt the weight of Reynolds Team's stare, he shifted just a bit under it before he forced his discomfort away. The scratch of a quill caught his attention. "This is the only time you have ever brought a guest, that leads me to believe that you are looking to replace someone. You should consider my guest as well. This is Evangeline Thorne, she is a skilled Potions Mistress and would be a bonus to any group."

Quagmire's entire group looked over at the only man who seemed not to be in the conversation. The man at Quagmire's shoulder spoke up. "Mr. Guest, what skills do you offer this group that they are considering you?"

Severus finished his thought before he looked up and pinned the man with glare. Shifting the glare over the others, he let scorn drip off his tongue. "Of course you jump to erroneous conclusions when you believe that others are the same as yourself. In this case, since your guest is hunting for a team to join, you believe that Master Reynolds' team brought a guest for the same reason. As I am already an active member of a team that I have no intention of leaving, I am not here to pander my skills to others."

Thorne folded her arms and tried to return the glare. "Then why are you here?"

"To gather information and banter ideas. Isn't that the reason for these conventions?" With that, Severus returned to writing out every ingredient that could possibly replace the ones that were in skele-gro.

"You don't seem to be talking to anyone. And if you wanted to share information, then you should at least give your name." Quagmire tried to see what the man was writing.

Severus waved the ink dry and let the parchment roll up before he capped his ink and wiped off his quill. Returning them and the parchment to his pocket, he shot a scathing look at the pudgy man. "I know to whom I wish to talk, and they know who I am, so introductions will not be necessary."

He turned to Matthew. "I wish to retire to my room."

Matthew glared at Quagmire for running Severus away before nodding to his friend. "I'll show you where it is."

Severus looked at the rest of his team and nodded. "Until later, gentlemen."

A chorus of _See you in the morning_ followed them.

(Ô.Õ)

The following morning, Severus reached over to his nightstand only to have his hand land back on the bed. Opening his eyes, he saw the potion bottle he needed was just a few inches from his outstretched hand. Moving over with a groan, he took two swallows of the final potion he had adapted that summer. It helped with the soreness of his muscles and gave a mild stamina boost. He didn't need it every day, but after the strain he put himself through yesterday, and the amount that he anticipated for today, it was needed. He was going to have to make sure that he carried it with him as well.

He made sure to take his bag of books and materials with him to the meeting room. He had charmed the bag to be similar to the one that Miss Granger had carried about during the final year of the war. It had been a very ingenious application of spells. More importantly, it allowed him to carry things without fear if they fell.

When the rest of the Team made it to the room, they found Severus with several books surrounding him and making notes on multiple scrolls of parchment.

Christopher dropped into the seat next to him. "How long have you been at this?"

Severus looked over at the brunette. "Since about six thirty this morning."

The rest settled into their seats. Matthew looked at what was scratched onto the parchment nearest him. It was a list of potion ingredients with abstract signs next to them connected by multiple lines. "What is this?"

Severus glanced over to see which parchment he was looking at. "That is Alexander's potion starting point."

Alexander lifted his head off his hand and gave a weary look at the wide awake man. "You started on my idea?"

Severus studied the parchment before setting back in his seat. "Yes. I am working on the possibilities. I am also working on the latest question that Phillip sent me."

Terry scanned the titles of the books on the table. " _One Thousand Magical Plants and Fungi, The Most Potent Potions Ingredients, Asian Medicinal Plants, From Garden to Kitchen: Herbs for the Best Cooks._.. What are you looking for in that last one?"

Phillip shook his head. "I'm surprised that you are using them at all. Surely you know all those ingredients. Well, except the cooking ones."

Severus smirked at the waiting group. "When you uses an ingredient often sometimes you forget other ways it can be used. And sometimes you just need to look at it from an entirely different perspective, such as cooking."

Five pairs of eyes met and their owners smiled. This was why Severus was an indispensable member of their team.

Matthew tapped the parchment closest to him. "Why don't you explain what you've come up with so far?" A quick muffling spell, and the conversation flowed until breakfast was served.

The day flew by as different teams presented and explained their potions. It was during the break after lunch that Severus finally had a chance to teach his Team the cutting technique that Matthew had asked him to demonstrate. Later that evening, after dinner had been cleared, a small group of older Potions Masters made their way to the Reynolds Team's table.

"Master Severus Snape, it is a surprise to see you here." The white haired master watched the younger man. "Last I heard you were buried in St. Mungo's sending letters to a team."

Severus let a small smile curl the corner of his lip. "Master Maelstrom, it is a pleasure to see you." He then gestured to the group of masters sitting with him. "This is the Team that I have been working with. As you can see, I was able find my way into a lab and make the potion that I wished to make before."

Maelstrom's eyes widened. "And you are completely cured?"

The other masters behind him sucked their breaths in.

Severus shook his head. "There was irreversible damage, but it is not enough to keep out me of a lab."

An elderly Potions Mistress smiled as she stepped forward. "So, we can expect to see a potion or two brewed by your own hand soon?"

"Of course, Mistress Lacy." Severus watched as chairs were summoned and the elders settled down for a long conversation. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the amazement on his team's face; it wasn't often that the Elders of the Potions Guild bothered to converse with the younger masters.

The last day of the convention, when they were presenting their potion, Severus noticed that the Elders sat in a protective semi-circle about the small stage. He focused his attention on Quagmire's team when Reynolds introduced the members of the team. Quagmire's expression made standing up there worth it.


	3. Hogwarts in Trouble

 Payne waited until everyone had left for the train station before he took himself off to Hogwarts. He appeared in elven waiting area and looked about. This was his first time coming here, though he had heard about the process from other elves. The day of the children's arrival was a time when the student's house elves could come and make sure that the school elves knew about the needs their particular charge.

Standing up against the wall, Payne listened to elves explaining that their charge could only have a certain type of duvet or they would never be able to sleep, that their charge hated lavender scent soap, or they couldn't fold their own clothes. Another set was talking about midnight snacks that had to be served in a particular order. Payne couldn't help but be proud, if a bit envious, of the tolerant and indulgent looks on the Hogwarts elves' faces.

Moving about, he hoped to find an elf that was willing to listen and take him seriously. He spotted a green-eyed female that no one else was talking to. Deciding to get this over with, he approached her. "Good morning."

The elf's green eyes narrowed as her ears lifted slightly. "Good morning."

"My name is Payne and I was told that this is the place I need to be to explain the special needs of my students coming to Hogwarts. May I address them to you?"

"Who are Payne's students and what are the students' issues? Terra will listen." Terra studied the elf a bit harder, there was something familiar about him.

Payne dismissed her almost condescending tone. It was to be expected with the needs he heard earlier. "Timothy and Elenora Fen. They are twins who shall be first years. Timothy is the one that you need to watch out for the most. He has memory problems and for the first several weeks he will be lost in the castle. If there are passwords that change, he will not remember them."

Terra's disinterest melted away and she focused intently on the other elf. This was a child who was going to truly need the elves' help. "So, the elves will need to make sure Timothy can enter the common rooms and watch Timothy to know where Timothy is."

Payne nodded. "Elenora should not have any real special issues unless something happens to Timothy. Then she needs to be watched for any unusual behavior. If this happens, then their guardians need to be informed immediately."

"Timothy and Elenora's guardians are?"

"Master Severus Snape and Mistress Minerva McGonagall." Payne stopped as Terra's eyes widened with recognition.

"Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall are back?" Terra fairly vibrated with excitement. That was what was familiar about this elf, he was touched by Master Snape's magic.

Payne studied her for a moment. "You know them?"

"Terra is a dungeon elf and has served Professor Snape for years. Professor McGonagall was the Deputy Headmistress."

Payne gestured to a quiet side of the room and filled her in on the condition of his masters. Terra reassured him that she and the others would take special care of Tim and Nora.

(Ô.Õ)

Nora trudged slowly down the hallway taking as much time as she possibly could away form Professor Binns' class. She had found the furthest bathroom on the same floor from his classroom just to wake herself up. The splash of water on her face helped a bit, but on her return she received a wake-up call she could have done without.

"Tim!" Nora rushed over to the stumbling form of her brother as he stepped off the stairs. "What happened?"

Her eyes ran over the shaking, potion-covered body, trying to see where she could touch to help him. Fear started clawing its way through her stomach. Pushing it away the best she could, she focused on Tim.

"Ex-exp-explo-sion... In-fir-ma-ry." Tim answer was barely a whisper as he gasped and shuddered.

Nora gave up on finding a safe place to hold, wrapped an arm about Tim and rushed as fast she could to get them to the Infirmary. She didn't hear the slight pop that sounded behind them.

(Ô.Õ)

After settling her brother on a bed, Nora looked about for the healer. No one was in sight. Flying to the Nurse's office door, she pounded on it, hoping that Madam Greene would be in there. When she received no answer, she spun about, her eyes searching every nook and cranny for someone to help.

She couldn't help her gasp when the Infirmary doors opened. Disappointment crashed through her when it wasn't Madam Greene. Instead it was Madam Weasley. Grabbing hold of her hope, she rushed over to the apprentice healer.

"Madam Weasley! Tim - he had an accident... potions..." Without thinking, Nora grabbed the redhead's robes and tugged her over to Tim's bed.

Rose Weasley had rushed to the Infirmary when a house elf found her and told her that she was needed immediately. She stared at the small boy covered in a thick purple paste from head to toe. It was obvious where his hands had come up to cover his face because that was the only clean spot on the boy's upper body. A panicking feeling crawled up her spine. She did not know how to treat this! Not even how to determine where to begin!

The elf should have found Madam Greene. _'Maybe they couldn't find her either.'_ Her frustrations at the Healer boiled deep in her gut. Greene was supposed to be training her, but seemed to spend more time outside the Infirmary than inside, and she, Rose, might as well be a ghost with the amount of attention was directed towards her. She had repeatedly brought it to the Headmaster's attention, but her complaints were brushed aside. And now, for the first time, she was faced with a possible life threatening situation that she had no idea how to use common sense to get through.

"Miss..." She looked at the young lady whose hands were also covered in purple paste. A quick glance at her robe showed small purple patches on it as well.

"Fen, Elenora Fen. This is my brother, Timothy Fen."

Rose found that keeping a confident face was difficult as bright blue eyes searched it. "Is your home connected to the floo?" Since she was an apprentice healer, Rose needed Greene's or a guardian's permission to send a child to St. Mungo's, and she didn't have time to have this approved by the Headmaster either, no matter that he demanded to be alerted before contacting a guardian.

Nora nodded quickly. "It is. Do you want me to call them?"

Rose grabbed a handful of floo powder, and tossed it into the fire place for the girl. She had no idea how the purple paste would react to the powder.

Nora knelt in front of the green flames, glad that Aunt Min had taught them how to use this. "Spinner's End." She watched as the flames showed her her living room. "Aunt Min! Uncle Toby! Payne! I need help... Tim.. Tim..."

Payne's face appeared in the flames. "Mistress Nora, what has happened?"

"It's Tim - he had a potions accident! The healer isn't here... and Madam Weasley asked me to-"

Payne brushed off her words. "I will get Master Toby. Wait here."

Nora sat back on her heels and looked up into barely calm face above her. "Uncle Toby will know what to do. He is a Potions Master."

For the first time since she had seen her patient, Rose felt as if this might turn out all right.

"Nora!" Severus searched the flames, looking for his ward's face.

"Uncle Toby!" Nora almost dove into the flames, Rose's hand on her shoulder held her back.

"What happened?" Severus noticed the potion covering on her outstretched hands. The back of his mind started analyzing what it could be.

"It's Tim. I found him coming up the stairs covered in this." Nora held her hands so that he could see them better. "But the healer isn't here!"

Severus looked over at Payne. "Get Min in here now, we are going to Hogwarts."

The house elf disappeared, and he heard Min rushing from the kitchen. "Tim is hurt, we are going to floo into the Infirmary."

Severus turned back to floo. "Nora, back up. Min and I are coming through."

Rose's eyes widened as Nora moved back taking her with her. She tried to tell them that there was no way that the two could floo through, but the words faded when two figures stepped out of the flames. Deciding that she would report the breach later, she moved on to what was more pressing at that moment. "Sir, Ma'am I need your permission to send these two to St. Mungo's."

Severus was grateful that Nora had supported him long enough for him to get his cane on the ground and to catch his balance. "Thank you Miss Weasley, but I will handle this. They will not need to go to St. Mungo's."

Brushing by the redhead, he headed straight to where he could see Tim was sitting. "Nora, over here now." Looking into the purple framed face, Severus searched the scared blue eyes. "It will be fine, Tim."

Tim nodded slightly. "You're here, Uncle Toby, of course it'll be. Aunt Min can help Nora, so everything will be fine."

Severus pulled his potion kit out of his bag. Taking one look at the purple potion he compressed his lips together as he mentally ran through all the first year potions and what mistake would cause this mess. Identifying it, he took out a vial. "Nora, use this to wash you hands. Use the sink in the back left hand corner."

Turning slightly, Severus smirked lightly at the uncertain look on Miss Weasley's face. "Miss Weasley, I require a large basin filled with clean water immediately."

Rose summoned the basin and filled it. While she was handing it to the man, she voiced her concern. "You know what you're doing?"

Minerva patted her shoulder. "Toby has been handling potions accidents for years. You can trust him."

Severus flicked his wand and closed off the bed area. "Miss Weasley if you wish to learn how to handle this type of emergency, get in here."

Rose stepped in the now private area. If Toby Fen wanted to teach her, she was willing to learn.

Severus set the basin down on the bed and added half a vial of neutralizer into the water. Conjuring up a flannel, he started coating every place the potion had touched.

Minerva turned towards where Nora stood worrying an empty vial between her hands. "Toby, do you want to check Nora before she heads back to class?"

"Continue as we were doing, I'll be right back." The curtain moved just enough to let Severus out. Pulling his wand, he ran a quick diagnostic check over Nora. Looking her in the eyes he could see the anxiety building up. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Tim will be fine. Between you and Miss Weasley, I was able to get here in time to prevent irreversible damage from occurring. Now, you need to head back to class."

"It's just the History of Magic, and I've told you how boring that is. Can't I stay?" Nora looked from Aunt Min and Uncle Toby, hope shining in her eyes.

"No, you cannot." He watched for any signs of her anxiety coming back. Not seeing it, he looked over at Minerva. "Min, take her to class, I have to get back to Tim." Severus squeezed Nora's shoulder before going back behind the curtains.

Minerva brushed a hand down the front of her robe and patted her hair to make sure it was in place. "Come on, Nora. You know that Tim will be fine with Toby."

"Yes, Aunt Min." Nora followed behind her Aunt to a class she was dreadfully late returning to.

Minerva watched Nora carefully the entire way to Binns' class. When they arrived, she was relatively certain that Nora wasn't going to have a relapse.

It wasn't until they were just outside the door that Nora realized that she didn't have a pass from the Infirmary. "Aunt Min, I need to get a pass. I am terribly late back."

Minerva sighed and stepped through the door, shooing Nora in with her.

Binns looked over at the opening of his door. "Ah, Professor McGonagall, how can I help you?"

Minerva swept a look over the sleeping students. "Elenora was in the Infirmary after escorting another student there, Professor."

The ghostly eyes drifted over to his wayward student. "Thank you for escorting her back to class."

Minerva nodded to both him and a gaping Nora before she left.

(Ô.Õ)

While Minerva was out of the Infirmary Severus and Rose finished up with Tim. Dosing the boy with a sleeping potion, Severus stepped out of the curtained area with Miss Weasley at his heels.

Rose looked back at the sleeping boy one last time before she let the curtain fall closed. Turning her brown eyes to the man who was currently leaning on a cane while packing a potions case, she knew she had to thank him. This was the first time this entire school year that she learned something. How to handle potions accidents was not covered in the Healer Basic Training classes, they expected you to learn things like this from your mentor.

"Master Fen?"

Severus smirked at the hesitant tone in her voice. Making a quick decision, he turned to face her, tucking his potions case into his bag. "My name is Toby Snape."

Rose blinked for a moment as she wondered if he could be related to the Professor Snape her Mum and Dad talked about. "My apologies, Master Snape. I wanted to thank you for your help today. Is there anything I need to watch for, or any other potions that I need to give him later?"

Severus looked down at the girl for a long moment before answering. "Watch for his skin to start blistering. A simple Blister- Ease Paste will be all right to put on it if it does. Keep him sleeping until tomorrow morning." He paused for a moment and looked around the Infirmary before returning his gaze back to her. "Where is the Healer, Miss Weasley?"

Rose compressed her lips tightly together as she considered how to answer. "I do not know where Madam Greene is. She was supposed to be here while I was running a missive to the Herbology teacher."

Severus barely kept himself from raising an eyebrow at that. Why would the apprentice be running errands that an elf could easily do? "How often does this occur?"

' _How much should I say? If a parent complains then something may be done.'_ Nodding to herself, Rose looked him squarely in the eyes. "More often than not. Most of the time Madam Greene is just isn't here." Even as the words left her mouth, the Infirmary doors opened.

Percy Weasley frowned as he walked into the Infirmary. He had stopped by to see how Rose was doing and was not expecting her to be talking to someone else. Stopping just behind his niece, he blinked as he tried to understand what he was seeing. Severus Snape was _standing_ there in the Infirmary, _leaning_ on a cane, talking to Rose.

As he started to speak, dark eyes met his and demanded that he stay quiet. Nodding slightly, he moved so that Rose could see him.

"Deputy Headmaster," Rose squeaked a bit because she knew she was going to be in trouble. "I don't know how Master Toby Snape was able to come through the floo, but we're lucky he was."

Percy concluded that all those years working in the Ministry or facing the pranks from his brothers allowed him to keep a straight face when she called Professor Snape 'Toby'. Then it registered that he had come through the floo.

"Master Snape, I fear you shall have to report to the Headmaster since you are in the school." Percy did his best to convey that he really was sorry and that he would not give anything away that Snape didn't want. He wouldn't even mention the man's ability to pass through warded floos.

Severus smirked at Percy letting the young man know that he understood his message. "That is fine, Deputy Headmaster Weasley. I wished to discuss with him the lack of medical care and the lack concern by the Potions Professor that I have seen. My ward, Timothy Fen, was very fortunate today."

' _His ward?'_ Percy blanched at the icy glare that rested on him. He knew that Snape was partially blaming him for what happened. "If you would please bring this to his attention, I would appreciate it. Shall we walk that way, sir?"

After a moment taking stock of himself, Severus walked to the Infirmary doors. Percy caught up with him as he walked into the hallway.

Percy cast a sideways glance over at the man who was one of the most formidable people he had ever met. Garnering the courage that had placed him into the house of the lion, he started to talk. "Sir, I don't know how much you know about what has happened to the school since the Final Battle."

Severus looked down at the redhead. "The Prophet states that some believe that the quality of education had gone downhill."

"And they are right. Very down hill. The students are barely getting Acceptables in their exams. A number don't even succeed in that. The Headmaster refuses to see that the problem is that he is hiring teachers that are his friends instead of ones that are highly qualified. I am only here because two years ago the Ministry and the Board placed me here to teach Ancient Runes. The Board made me Deputy against the Headmaster's wish. Accidents are rife in all classes that have practicals. You were witness to the issue with the Infirmary today. Madam Greene is absent more than she is present. But the Headmaster isn't listening to either Rose or myself about the problem." Percy stopped and looked at the older man. "If you, as a guardian, complain maybe it will make a difference."

Severus contemplated the serious face before him. "I have no qualms bringing this to his attention, but I do not wish my previous titles to be used. I shall be Toby Snape, understood?"

Percy's shoulders sagged in relief. "What about the portraits, sir?"

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Leave them to me."

As they continued down the hall, Severus noticed that Weasley was lost deep in thought and was continually shooting quick glances at him. "What else do you want from me, Weasley?"

Percy stepped off the stairs and straightened his shoulders. "I want your help, sir. There has to be some way that you know of that can help these students achieve what they need, or at least to make it through their career here."

Severus narrowed his eyes as he continued down the hall. "Where are most of the accidents occurring, and what are the teachers truly like?"

"Potions has the most accidents," Percy caught Snape's nod before he continued. "then come DADA, Transfigurations and Charms. The others have less permanent accidents. I think the Herbology Professor is worth keeping around, but she needs to learn more about the British plants and she needs to be stricter. The Defense Professor goes both ways. Some days I think he's worth it and other days I think that a seventh year from your time could take him out without a thought. Transfigurations and Charms, he paused for a moment as he thought about what he wanted to say. "They mollycoddle the students." He snorted a laugh. "Actually Mum would be a better teacher for both subjects."

Severus felt his brow rise of its own accord. He knew that Molly had taught the Weasley children before they came to Hogwarts, and she was obviously a good teacher due to the honors they achieved. But to say that she could teach Charms and Transfigurations better than two masters of the subject was telling.

"The first thing is to lower the accident rates in at least Potions and to get these students thinking again." Severus stopped just outside the Headmaster's door. His legs were warning him that all those stairs had not been a wise idea, no matter how much Weasley had humored him by taking them slowly. Reaching into his bag, he found and took a draught of his potion. "You must follow my lead. If you can do that, then I will attempt to help. Meet me tonight after curfew at the Hog's Head. Is Aberforth still the proprietor?"

"He is. I'll be there." Percy spoke the password and they both headed up to the office. When they reached the upper door, he was surprised when Snape strode through.

As soon as Severus passed through the door, he cast a warning look at all the portraits, one they knew well. "Headmaster Moreau, I demand that you inform me what action will be taken against Madam Greene and Professor Belcourt."

Severus caught sight of the brightly twinkling blue eyes behind the Frenchman's head. A quick narrowing of his eyes warned Albus not to say anything.

The dark-haired Headmaster shot out of his seat, his answer almost indistinguishable due to his thick French accent. "Who are you and why should I take action?"

Percy moved across the room to stand to the side of the Headmaster's desk. He noticed that Snape was leaning on his cane. It seemed to be part of the effect that he was trying to achieve, but Percy wondered if he actually needed to.

Severus leveled a death glare on the man. "Your Potions Professor sent _my ward_ out of his classroom to find his _own way_ to the Infirmary while _covered in the residue of a potions accident_. And then _your healer_ was not there to take care of this issue when he arrived. If my other ward had not summoned me at the request of the apprentice healer, then who knows how long this accident would have been left untreated."

Marius Moreau suppressed a shudder at the glare that was resting on him. How dare this man come in here and speak to him in such tones? "It was obviously not a threatening issue, and I doubt that your presence was truly necessary."

Severus scowled, fighting the urge to hex the man where he stood. "My ward suffered a class three potions accident and your incompetent professor thought that he was safe enough to traverse the halls, not caring what would happen to him much less who else would be contaminated by this."

Percy's eyes widened just a bit as he tried to think of what needed to be done to the path from the Potions classroom to the Infirmary.

Severus noticed that Weasley understood his warning. "The apprentice healer called me to gain my permission to send my ward to St. Mungo's as she had no way of contacting your healer, and has not been trained in how to handle this issue. I have rectified the last part."

He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in as he took a moment to enjoy the gleeful expression that was on more than one of the portraits' faces. "So, I ask you once again, what consequences will these two face for the wilful and harmful neglect that they have directed towards my ward?"

Headmaster Moreau shifted his attention to the redheaded thorn in his side that had come in with the man. "Professor Weasley, what do you know of this?"

Percy glanced over at Snape before answering. The look the man gave him told him he needed to speak the truth. It was at that moment, Percy realized how well Professor Snape had trained them to recognize his expressions. Even after all these years, he understood. "I stopped by the Infirmary to check on Madam Greene and Miss Weasley. When I arrived, Master Snape was already in the room and had treated his ward, Timothy Fen. As he was a guardian on campus, I brought him here to you."

"Mr. Fen cannot have been in that much danger if you, Master Snape, could treat him." Moreau jumped at the snort that came from one of the portraits.

"The man knows enough to class the accident level, he would know enough to treat it."

Moreau glared at the Headmistress' portrait that had spoken up. He wanted to call her out, but even after six years, he had yet to learn anyone's names but Dumbledore's. Turning back to the irate guardian, he folded his arms and smiled. "There isn't much I can do at this moment. I will file your complaint and place it with their records."

A quick look at Albus' portrait told Severus that this was normal. His voice dropped to a deadly tone. "A small comment placed in their file? That is all?"

Moreau nodded. "That is all for the time being."

Severus leaned forward, resting one hand on the Headmaster's desk while the other held his cane. "I am withdrawing both my wards from their Potions class. As permitted by the by-laws of this school, I will provide them with a private tutor for the subject. The school will provide a location for this tutor to teach." He turned to Weasley. "Deputy Headmaster, you will inform both Timothy and Elenora Fen that they are not to attend Professor Belcourt's class. They shall have a different instructor by by their next Potions lesson."

"You... you can't do that!" Moreau stormed around his desk. "You cannot send a private tutor to this school just because your ward had an accident!"

Dumbledore that answered him. "He is in his right. The by-laws allow a guardian to withdraw a student from a class as long as they are willing to provide the student with comparable or better instruction on the material. The school must provide a location for this instruction to occur if the child has sustained an injury in the class in question."

Moreau glared at the portrait. "Fine. Weasley you are in charge of this tutor."

Percy kept the smile off his face. "Yes, sir. Master Snape, if you would ask the tutor to see me when they arrive at the school. Do you know what day I should expect them?"

Severus recalled both schedules. "The day after tomorrow. They will meet you in the front hall during the first class."

Percy nodded. "I'll see them then."

Severus turned his attention back to the Headmaster. "I hope that your other instructors are not as lacking as the one for your Potions class."

Turning about carefully, Severus headed out the door and rode the staircase down. Stepping off, he found a small alcove to stop in. Leaning against the wall, he tried to psych himself up to face the stairs. He was considering sliding down the rail with a cushioning charm at the bottom when a pop next to him drew his attention. "Terra?"

"Headmaster Snape, sir. Terra is here to help." The green eyed elf smiled.

"Not Headmaster, you know that. Just Master Snape." Severus waited until she begrudgingly nodded. "What are you here to help with?" He didn't bother to ask how she knew he was in the castle.

Terra looked at his cane and then reached a hand towards him. "Terra is here to take Master Snape to the Infirmary."

Severus studied her for a moment, before accepting her hand. It was his first experience with house elf apparation. They reappeared in an alcove near the Infirmary doors.

"Thank you, Terra." Severus sent a small smile towards the elf.

"Terra is glad to help. Is Master Snape coming back to the school?"

Severus smirked. "Yes, I am going to be tutoring Potions."

Terra's green eyes widened. "Master Snape is coming back to the dungeons? Terra must tell Ignis and Aqua to prepare your rooms. Does Master Snape need ingredients moved?"

Severus shook his head. "No, the ingredients stay with the current professor. But if you could make sure that the storeroom of cauldrons that I repaired is still there, they may be placed on the shelves in the room."

Terra's eyes narrowed just a bit. "They are still there, Master Snape. They will be placed on the shelves. Does Master Snape want the ingredients that Professor Belcourt says are of no use?"

"No use? Why are they here?"

"Other Potion Professors order them, and Professor Belcourt order different ones."

Severus raised an eyebrow before nodding. "Move them and I will see what use I have for them."

"At once Master Snape." Terra popped away.

Resting a moment longer, Severus headed into the Infirmary. "Min, it is time to go."

Minerva looked up from where she was sitting by Timothy's side. "Toby, do you have some of that Blister- Ease Paste? I don't feel confident with the one here."

Severus pulled a small container out and handed it to Miss Weasley. "You should use this the moment the skin seems to raise up."

Rose took the paste and set it on her patient's bedside table. "I will. Thank you for your help Master Snape."

Severus nodded once before heading for the floo. It only took a moment to be home. Payne prevented him from falling and he was very grateful for his chair. He needed to rest up so he was able to meet Weasley that evening.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus settled gingerly onto the seat at Hog's Head, and handed his own mug to Alberforth.

The old man gave him a patented Dumbledore smile before handing it back full of fire whiskey. "Good to see you walking about Snape. How did you pull that off?"

Severus took a swallow of his drink. "Potion. The one I asked them to stick me to a chair and let me brew when I was first cursed."

"McGonagall?" Aberforth wiped the table off as he talked.

"Doing better. I was finally able to make a potion to help her. Took a couple of brats to get us to the point that we could do so." Severus smirked at the memory of Tim and Nora when they first met them.

"Brats do have a way of doing the impossible don't they. What happened to them?"

"I adopted them and they are currently attending Hogwarts."

Aberforth scowled. "The Headmasters after you left have been ruining the school. My brother may have been many things, but he could run the school successfully. Trained you and McGonagall up right to take it, too. The folks that they've had in there are not worth the mud on the floor here. It's been getting worse and worse for years, but this newest one... he is the worst. Running the school into the ground. Might as well leave the kids on the train for all they're learning."

Severus frowned. "That is what Professor Weasley indicated. He is supposed to be meeting me here tonight."

"Are you going to be the Headmaster again?"

"No, I am going to tutor my wards in Potions, and anyone else who wants to learn them. It is a starting point."

Aberforth frowned for a moment before grinning. "Get them realizing that they can learn and teach them how to ask the right questions. A good idea that."

Severus nodded as he spotted Weasley standing behind Aberforth his eyes wide with realization. "And then you can see which teachers will rise to the occasion. If they don't, then they aren't worth keeping. If they do, then they have a chance of succeeding and teaching right."

"So, how are you going to tutor more than your wards?" Percy slid into the other chair at the table. He barely kept from cringing at Snape's 'you didn't do your homework' look.

"Professor Weasley, the by-law that I am using to allow me to tutor my wards requires that a letter be sent to the guardian of every student in their year group informing them of my presence. They are allowed to decided if they wish their child to be placed into my tutoring class for a nominal fee. They must also provide ingredients to be used, unless there is an outside source willing to donate them to the school. They cannot be provided out of school inventory. This letter needs to be sent out tomorrow or else the by-law is broken."

Percy frowned slightly "This will bring it to the other parents attention that there is another option available to them. Do I need to name the Potions Master who is tutoring?"

Severus shook his head no.

"Do you wish your old classroom and office back?"

"If it is available."

"Completely. I'll have the elves clean it up for you." Percy smiled.

Severus took a sip of his drink. "'Is the school really as poorly off as Aberforth is making it out to be?"

"It is. What happened in the Infirmary is unfortunately a normal occurrence, as well as the severely injured heading there unescorted. The Headmaster hasn't gone over safety procedures since I have been here, and Professor Aguillard, the Herbology Professor whose been there longer than the Headmaster, says he never has. She is afraid to rock the boat since Moreau retains professors based on how much he likes them, not how well they perform. I have no idea where Madam Greene vanishes off to, but I know that she isn't on school grounds."

Aberforth snorted. "She certainly isn't. She's down at MacGiven's Books making out with the shop boy there, or having a drink here with him. She complains about the quality of the drink, but doesn't want to be seen at the Broomsticks. I used to send up a report to the school to let them know she was here and not there. Nothing came of it."

Severus thought for a moment. "We need to see exactly what we are dealing with. You haven't seen the teachers try, but you have seen some potential in a few of them. Madam Greene just needs to move here so that she can be replaced. I do not think Miss Weasley is ready to take over the Infirmary on her own."

Percy shook his head quickly. "Rose just took up healing. She has been indecisive as to what she wanted to do. She worked at George's shop while she was making up her mind. She isn't confident enough, nor is she supported enough to gain that confidence."

Severus nodded. "Right now, it is a wait and see what happens."

"We shall keep our eyes peeled. Thank you Master Snape for your help." Percy stood up. "I should head back and get those letters moving. See you soon."

Severus nodded. "Until then Professor Weasley."

(Ô.Õ)

Severus apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and walked through. Neither he nor Minerva understood how they were able to floo into the Infirmary since the wards should have kept them out. He was going to test the floo in his office when he left today.

A pop sounded next to him. "Master Snape, sir, Ignis is here to take Master Snape to the school."

Severus frowned down at the small elf. "I am capable of making my way to the school. I am not completely useless."

Ignis folded his arms and glared. "Ignis did not say Master Snape was useless. Master Snape needs to accept help so sir can berate students later. Ignis, Aqua and Terra are going to help Master Snape even when Master Snape growls and yells. Ignis, Aqua and Terra are used to it."

Severus closed his eyes briefly. Yes, Payne did remind him forcefully of those three. Only a direct and thoroughly worded order would stop them when they decided to do something. If the house elves were Sorted, those three would be the most Slytherin-like Hufflepuffs that ever existed.

Opening his eyes, he admitted that one thing he had learned over the years was to accept help, but on his own terms. He pinned the elf with a serious look. "You three can help me, but I insist on doing what I can."

Ignis nodded, his ears flapping in time with his head. "Ignis will now take Master Snape to the entry hall. The classroom and office are prepared."

Severus held a hand to Ignis and shortly found himself just outside the main doors.

Ignis shot the Potions Master a quick look. "Ignis thought that Master Snape would want to walk through the doors."

"You were correct, thank you Ignis." Severus nodded to the small elf before opening the doors and entering the hall. He heard Ignis leave. Severus was sure he would see the elf again in the dungeons.

Percy rushed down the steps, it was never a good thing to keep Snape waiting. A quick look about the hallway made him pale. Snape was waiting for him near the dungeon stairs. Refusing to act like a student, he walked calmly over to the waiting man. "Master Snape."

"Professor Weasley. My rooms are in order and my wards know to expect me?" Severus did his best not to grin as the color seeped back into Weasley's face.

Percy nodded. "Mr. Fen won't be able to join you today. Madam Greene insists that he needed to stay in the Infirmary one more day as she was uncertain about the potions used to treat him."

"And what was Miss Weasley's stance on the matter?" Severus' eyes narrowed dangerously.

Percy gestured for Snape to proceed him down the stairs. "Rose said that he was fit to leave yesterday at lunch time. She was slightly worried that he was mumbling something about purple now the color for what not to do, but he seemed fine physically."

Severus made a mental note of the color choice. "So, I will see him next class. He does have access to all his books and missing work?"

Percy laughed. "Of course he does. He asked for them and his sister brought them to him. Refreshing to see since most of the students that are up there seem to take it as time off."

Severus smirked. "My first class will be right after lunch?"

"Yes, it will. I've had no responses to the letters." Percy's feet led him to Snape's classroom and office out of habit.

"That was to be expected. They will have to think about it." Severus stopped at his old classroom's door. "I shall be brewing in my classroom."

Percy stopped next to him. "Of course. Should I send lunch to your office or will you be coming to the Great Hall to eat?"

"I'll be eating here. I'll call a house elf when I am ready." Severus opened the door and illuminated the space behind it.

Pewter cauldrons gleamed on the shelves near the back sinks and the rest of the room looked as if he had never left it.

Percy blinked at the sight and grinned. Some things never changed. "Oh, sir, you have the right to deduct house points and assign your students detentions, but only the ones that are signed up to be with you."

The grin that graced the older man's face almost made Percy scared. Almost.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus set up a work station near his office door before walking into the ingredient cupboard to see what the elves had moved in there for him.

Inventorying the ingredients, he felt his jaw drop slightly at the amount of ingredients. He could teach both sixth and seventh year NEWT classes with what was in there. There was enough to also teach a fifth year OWLs class - both classes if he let them work in larger groups, not to mention years one through four. With just a few supplements 'he could teach all the classes as long as he planned for larger groups again.

"Terra, Ignis, Aqua." The three elves appeared in the practically full ingredient cupboard. "Are you sure these are ingredients that Professor Belcourt refuses to use?"

Severus watched the looks of disgust that raced over their faces.

"Yes, Master Snape. Professor Belcourt orders the ingredients cleaned out and disposed of at the end of each school year." Ignis looked over the containers spelled to maintain the freshness of the ingredients.

Aqua nodded to the collection on the top shelf. "Those ingredients are from when Professor Belcourt first came here. Professor Middely had ordered the ingredients for private research."

Severus stood there for a moment attempting to wrap his mind around the idea that new ingredients were bought every year and the old were disposed of. Albus would have had a conniption at the waste of money. _'But they are still school ingredients, unless they are no longer in the school inventory. I will have to have Weasley check for me. Until then, I will have to plan on the students providing their own.'_

Terra looked up at Snape. "Is there anything else Terra can do for Master Snape?"

The other two elves looked up at him waiting.

"Students have been leaving and misplacing copies of textbooks as long as this school has been here. Find me as many lost copies of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ as you can and place them in the book cupboard." There, that should give him enough extra books for the other students he hoped to gain.

"Yes, Master Snape."

The three elves vanished leaving him to make his way back to his work station. He had a few tests to complete while he had a chance. After setting up his cauldron, he prepared his ingredients while he remembered the meeting yesterday.

Severus had apparated into the designated area of the research facility and then had immediately apparated to the space that had been set aside for that in the lab rooms. He had questioned them when they had shown him the apparation point, but Alexander said that had created it when he had broken his leg years ago. It had proved useful when carrying large items to the lab, so they kept it.

Severus had called a Team meeting and set up the privacy wards before explaining what was happening at Hogwarts, and that he was returning as a tutor.

The Team had sighed and huffed about just getting him back, but had understood the need for him to be at Hogwarts, especially when he explained the state he had found Tim in. With a promise to continue as he had always done, and to brew when he had a chance, the conversation had dissolved into a discussion on their current projects.

Severus ended the meeting, promising to be in the labs when he could. He had spent the next hour working on the skele-gro potion. Matthew's comment as he was leaving shocked him. The Team leader told Severus to inform them if the students could not afford ingredients and the Team would make up the deficit to make sure that they could brew what they needed to.

Severus glanced over at the closed cupboard door. He would have to tell them about this windfall.

(Ô.Õ)

Nora searched the dungeon for the room that the Deputy Headmaster had given her directions to. She was glad that she had lunch before Potions, it gave her enough time to hunt out where she was supposed to be. Almost positive this was the correct door, she opened it and peeked around the edge. Seeing who was waiting on her, she rushed in smiling from ear to ear. "Uncle Toby!"

Severus set his stirrer down on its rest before turning around. "You are early, Nora."

"It's lunch time, and I also have the period before lunch free, so I was in lunch early. Can I study in here next time before lunch? You'll be here, won't you?" Nora dropped her book bag onto a desk and moved over to where Uncle Toby was working. "What are you doing?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at her continual questions. He waited for her to shrug before he started to answer. "Yes, you _may_ as long as I am in here, but you must eat lunch. Most of the time I will be here, or in my office." He pointed to door next to his work station. "And I am testing a set of ingredient choices for a potion that the Team is working on."

Nora grinned. "When are we going to get started?"

Severus glanced over at what she brought with her. "You need to go retrieve your pewter cauldron and the other potions book we bought you."

"Yes, sir." Nora stopped at the door and turned back to him. "Uncle Toby..." Her voice trailed off as she considered how to ask him.

Severus added the next ingredient choice to his cauldron before he looked over at her. "Just ask, Nora."

The Gryffindor nodded and took a deep breath, she knew how much Uncle Toby liked skivers. "Uncle Toby, there is a group of students from my class that don't attend Professor Belcourt's lessons. Can they come here?"

Severus frowned at her as he considered. "Are they studying without an instructor?"

Nora nodded fast. "I would have joined them but I knew Aunt Min and you wouldn't agree. They are even brewing what they can."

' _So, a group that is trying to learn, but is refusing to be in the dunderheaded Professor's presence.'_ Narrowing his eyes, he studied Nora as she became uncertain. "That would be fine."

Relief washed through Nora. She was pretty certain that Uncle Toby had only agreed because they were practicing brewing. "I'll get them while I retrieve the book and cauldron. Back in a moment. Thanks Uncle Toby!"

Severus watched as she ran out the door before turning his attention back to his potion. He had ten minutes maybe fifteen to finish.

Nora retrieved her cauldron and book before stopping by the deserted classroom where the unofficial Potions class was held. Maria Long had stopped coming to class last week and had asked Nora to join them. She was glad that Uncle Toby had agreed, she missed her potions partner.

Nora slipped through the door and spotted the group setting out ingredients. "Guys."

The group of Gryffindors and Slytherins turned to face her.

"Nora! You came." Maria smiled at her as she waved her over to the table.

Nora bit her bottom lip and then tightened her grip on the cauldron handle. "If you want, you can join me. My guardians pulled me out of the class and my Uncle Toby is here to tutor me. He said you could come to his room and work."

Maria looked at her long and hard. "Is he going to turn us in, take points for skiving off, yell at us?"

The others in the group watched Nora, waiting on her answer.

Nora felt her shoulders drop a bit before she shrugged. "I don't know if he'll turn you in. I doubt he can take points. And Uncle Toby scowls, frowns, is sarcastic, and will chew you out with words you have to look up later to know what he said. That's just Uncle Toby. He's also a research Potions Master and knows what he's doing. He taught me everything I knew before I came here, and he is the one that healed Tim the other day."

She spotted the cautious looks between the group before she continued. "I told him that there was a group skiving off and practicing. If I know my Uncle Toby, he'll hunt you down and make you come to his room to work if you don't come on your own. You might be able to outrun him, but I don't think you can lose him."

Neil Brooks was frowning as he stepped towards Nora. "You honestly think he'd be able to find us?"

"Miss Fen!"

The group turned as one and stared at the blue-eyed house elf standing next to Nora.

"Master Snape says it is time. It is not good to be late to Master Snape's class." Aqua turned her bulbous eyes to the other ten staring students. "Master Snape said for all the students to hurry up."

Nora looked from the elf back to the others. "I think he can. Come on - Uncle Toby can help."

Neil gestured for the others to gather the materials. "If he turns out to be as bad as Belcourt, we're out of there. Your uncle or not."

Nora started to leave only to stop, turn around and shut the door behind her. "One more thing. He won't mention it, but I refuse for you to think anything bad about my uncle." She landed a hard look on each of them. "Uncle Toby was hurt a long time ago, and the healers swore he would never walk or stand again. He has a cane and has to sit down if his legs get tired. This doesn't mean that he can't help you. As I said he is a practicing Potions Master and is constantly in his lab at home. He trained Tim and myself both all summer, and we didn't not suffer a single injury the entire time."

Maria glanced at the others before turning back to Nora. "Was it a potions accident?"

Nora shook her head. "He was hexed, and that's all he'll say. Aunt Min says that only his quick reactions kept him and her alive. She said it happened right after the last war."

Brooks looked at his fellow Slytherins. He knew how much the people of the last war despised his House, and some had passed that down to their current generation. They'd give him a chance and wouldn't say a thing about his injuries. "Let's go. Your uncle's waiting and can get the house elves to do his bidding."

(Ô.Õ)

Severus recorded the last section of notes on his potion when his door opened again. "Miss Fen, you are now late for class. Explain."

"I had to convince them to come, Uncle Toby. Sorry I am late." Nora waited to see if she was going to be scolded.

"Miss Fen, during class you shall call me Master Snape just like the rest of the students." Severus stood and faced the group that had come in and clustered about a single table. _'Slytherin and Gryffindor houses are taking potions together still. But they are willing to work together, or at least this group is.'_

Nora ducked her head, but looked back up and smiled. "Yes, sir."

Neil watched as the black robes fell about the man as he stood. The wooden cane in his hand but he didn't seem to use it except for standing up. He felt the dark eyes rest on his crest and was prepared for the worst. He was surprised when the man started speaking quietly instead of yelling and ordering them out.

"Two per table, with one group of three as we have odd numbers. I do not know what you know, so we will start by brewing, then you shall have a quiz." Severus looked over at the skivers. "You may use a pewter cauldron from the shelf, do _not_ use the copper bottom ones that you were instructed to bring with you."

Neil watched as their group paired off as normal and then one person from each group went to get a cauldron. He wasn't sure if he was happy about having a quiz, but he could understand the man's point of view. Standing behind the table, he noticed he wasn't the only one watching Master Snape warily. Every single one of them except Fen was. Every one of them had been in a potions accident earlier this year or very close to one. He looked down at the scar on the back of his hand as Master Snape started to speak again.

"As this is a private class, the school will not be providing ingredients for brewing. I have brought enough for Miss Fen, and should have enough for the rest of you to work on today's potion. Most potions will require specialized ingredients as well as the ones that you purchased before you came. If you are having difficulty accessing the ingredients you need, talk to me after class. Now, the book that you have purchased for Professor Belcourt will not be used in here. Miss Fen, if you will check the cupboard next to the door, there should be some old texts there. Please see if there is enough for each group to have one."

As Fen headed for the cupboard, Neil watched the man walk to the desk at the front of the room and picked up a quill.

"I require the names of those who are attending my class."

Neil blinked when Master Snape looked right at him. "Neil Brooks, Slytherin."

He almost whispered his house name and barely stopped himself from cringing at the glare that came his way. Now they would hear about it before being ordered out.

Severus looked over the other snakes and noticed that they were all fearful of him. It was a unique experience, but one he didn't want. "Mr. Brooks, there is no reason to be ashamed of the House of Slytherin. Slytherin is one of the four Houses of Hogwarts, the one that is cunning enough to plan far in advance to help all survive. Gryffindor is brave enough to do as Slytherin plans. Hufflepuff is steadfast enough to push through to the end when all seems to be lost. And Ravenclaw is intelligent enough to know when to change the plan. All four Houses and their strengths are necessary for the survival of the Wizarding world. Just as all four are needed to balance out the weaknesses of the others."

Maria tentatively raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss..."

"Long, sir. Maria Long, Slytherin. Did you attend Hogwarts and if so what house were you in?"

Severus felt the entire group's eyes on him. He and Minerva hadn't told Tim or Nora anything about their time at the school because they hadn't wanted the two to feel as if they had to get into a particular house. Looking at the wary faces watching him, he knew Minerva would not forgive him if he didn't answer the question or support both houses waiting on his answer. "I did attend Hogwarts, Miss Long. I was placed in Slytherin."

He smirked at the disbelief mixed with relief washing over half the group. The other half was still wary.

Nora started to worry. Surely Uncle Toby wouldn't hold it against her that she was in Gryffindor? The rivalry between the two houses was legendary. This group was an exception. She felt herself pinned with a 'don't be a dunderhead' look.

"Miss Fen, your Aunt Min was quite happy that you were sorted into her old house." Severus watched as the worry leaked out of the girl. The other Gryffindors also relaxed as well. "And now, if you have found the books, pass them around. We have much to accomplish."

Severus continued create his register as Nora passed about the books she found. "Today I wish to watch you brew the Boil Cure potion. Pay attention to the directions in the book and on the board. The extra ingredients you need are in the storage cupboard."

With a gesture of his wand, Severus opened the door and then with another, put the potion instructions on the board. "Begin."

Summoning his stool, he set it in just the right spot so that he could see all the cauldrons. Walking about the room he observed their brewing skills.

Nora watched as Uncle Toby periodically walked the room and then sat down. After she filled hers and Maria's vial, she raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Fen?"

"Where do we turn in our work?" Her question caught everyone's attention as they were all at the same point.

Severus nodded to the rack on his desk. "Put yours and your partner's name on the vial and place it in the rack on my desk, and then see me."

He watched as the vials were turned in. The group was good. Of course they might have brewed this one before. Nora was the first to him. "Has your class brewed this potion before?"

Nora shook her head. "No, sir. This was the first time."

After handing out the quizzes, he checked the results of their brewing. They were not as hopeless as he had thought. That thought was confirmed later when he graded the quizzes.

Before the students left the room, Severus looked over the group. "I expect each of you here next class. If you wish the ability to sit for your Potions exams, then urge your guardians to accept the offer that the school has sent out."

Brooks raised his hand. "What offer, sir?"

"As I was hired to tutor Miss Fen and her brother this school year, the school is obligated to give your guardians a chance to have you moved into my class for a fee. Of course you must provide your own ingredients. The only thing different than what we discussed at the beginning of class today will be that your parents will pay a nominal amount and you will receive credit for being in here." Severus was pleased with the smiles that were exchanged between the students.

"Until later." As they were leaving, Severus caught the look that Nora sent him. "Miss Fen, do remember you have permission to stop by before class."

He watched her face brighten as she left the room, babbling with the others.

Severus cleaned up and was pleased that he could floo out through his office.

(Ô.Õ)

The small group of Slytherin and Gryffindor first years clustered together outside the Transfiguration classroom door. The rest of their class had yet to make it there.

"He knows what he's doing. Did you see the work station he had set up on the side of the room? I wonder what he was brewing?" Daphne Pritchard looked over at Neil, the best in potions in the group.

Neil shook his head. "I have no clue what he was working on, but the things that were sitting there... they didn't look like they were for show."

"He was working with the cauldron as we came in, and he kept checking it all through class." Jason Love leaned back against the wall. "I'm surprised we didn't have homework."

Nora grinned. "He was working on a experiment for his Team, so don't ever expect him to explain what he's doing to you. Just be grateful that you can watch him. Tim and I were always sent out of the lab when he started that. And we will have homework next time. He just wants to know what we know before he assigns it. Trust me, Uncle Toby... I mean Master Snape … can assign more homework than you can shake a stick at."

Neil laughed. "I trust you. He was good, and that book was clear. I'm going to ask my parents to get me into the class, as well as buying my own copy of the book."

The others nodded as the rest of their class came up.

Daphne looked over the smaller group straggling behind the main class. Bryant's hands were burnt again. "We need to tell them so that they can decided what they want to do. I'll conference with the Gryffindors, since it's Nora's uncle."

Neil watched as the group slipped into the room."I'll talk with the Slytherins."

(Ô.Õ)

Timothy walked through the door that the elf left him at. No one else seemed to see the elves, but they had been looking after him since he arrived. They'd been his guides around the castle.

"Uncle Toby," he set his bag on the table and peered about the empty room. "Where are you?"

Severus walked out of his office and peered at Timothy. "I was about to head home, Payne is holding supper for me. Is there something that you need help with?"

Tim nudged the edge of his bag as he frowned, his voice reflecting his uncertainty. "Isn't it time for our tutoring session?"

Severus froze for a moment before giving an inaudible sigh. This was their tutorial time all last year. "Tim, you have class with me in the morning, and you can stay for prep right after it. It is during prep that you can get more help if you need it."

Tim bit his bottom lip as he struggled to recall study hall. "Prep is new, isn't it? But it is like our tutoring sessions, right?"

"It is new. Prep is a time for you to study and prepare for you classes. If you need extra help, you can ask me and it will become like our tutoring sessions. You came to your first one today." He watched as the memory filled the bright blue eyes. Yes, Tim was doing much better.

"That's why it felt like I'd already been to tutorial today!" Tim grinned brightly. "Go enjoy dinner and tell Aunt Min hi for me. Good night, Uncle Toby!" After a quick hug, Tim grabbed his bag and rushed out to his own dinner.

Severus watched him go. He was glad that the prep time gave him a chance to help Tim work on his other classes, the boy wasn't quite ready to be on his own yet. He would slowly wean him off the support through the rest of this year.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus barely made to that day's first class in time.

Rose Weasley had learned early on that he knew what he was doing in the Infirmary, and had taken to calling him up there when she was in over her head. This morning a group of third years had arrived, half from Herbology and the other half from Potions. He had received a panicked call to his office while he was preparing for his first class. Severus knew that this had to change. There was no way he could help run the Infirmary and teach class at the same time.

Opening the door, he let in his first year Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff class. A brief lecture later, he set them to brewing.

He worried the issue of how to handle the Infirmary problem without negatively impacting his classes as he watched the small group create for the most part, bubbling messes. As he watched the first years clean up and prepare to leave, he knew what he had to do.

"Mr. Fen."

Yes, Un..., sir?" Tim searched Uncle Toby's face, hoping not to be scolded for not remembering his name.

Severus forced back a sigh. Tim had been improving. The memory tricks from the book the boy had found combined with as much Legilimency and Occulmency as he was willing to teach such a young mind had made a difference. He could tell the improvement made from the beginning of summer during their last prep, but the boy was still unable to remember that his last name was Snape.

Severus met and held Tim's gaze. "I am going to be in a series of short meetings today. Please let your sister know that you are to use the library today to do your homework. If you still have questions, you may see me right before lunch."

Tim frowned for a moment, a mutinous expression rushing over his face before it smoothed out. "Nora and I have to go to the library today and can only see you right before lunch. Yes, sir." Tim tipped his head to the side. "Can we bring friends with us tomorrow? I have a few who want to come and so does she."

When Uncle Toby nodded, he headed out to find Nora.

Severus watched as Tim took off down the hall, hoping that he knew where Nora was. Shutting the door, he walked into his office and settled into his desk chair. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax for a moment.

When he felt ready, he opened his eyes, and called for an elf that he hadn't seen since he was the Headmaster. "Meri."

An older female elf appeared, staring at him in surprise. "Master Severus Snape! Meri is happy to see Master Snape."

Severus gave Poppy's Infirmary elf a welcoming look. "I am glad to see you as well. Can you tell me why you are not still in the Infirmary?"

A thunderous look crashed over the elf's face, her ears lifting as high as they could in her indignation. "Healer Greene has forbidden all elves to enter the Infirmary."

Severus raised an eyebrow at that. This was going to require more authority than he thought. "She is keeping you out of the Infirmary? You are the Infirmary house elf, that is where you are supposed to be." He cut off the rant before he got started. "If I can make it so that you can enter the Infirmary, would you be willing to take Miss Rose Weasley under your wing and train her up as you did me?"

Meri smiled. "If Master Snape can get Meri back in, Meri will train Mistress Weasley, as long as Mistress Weasley agrees."

"Terra, Ignis," he waited until the two elves arrived. "Go tell Professor Weasley and Miss Weasley that I wish to see them in my office."

They popped away after acknowledging his request.

"Meri, you will have to make sure that Madam Greene does not see you training Miss Weasley."

"Has not Healer Greene been training Miss Weasley?"

Severus shook his head. "That is why I am asking you to take her in hand. From what I have been told and have observed, Madam Greene is not in the Infirmary often, so you will be the one solely in charge of the training. Look to see if those books that Poppy made me read are still on the shelf and make sure that Miss Weasley gets them if they are."

He stopped speaking when his office door opened and admitted the two redheads. He caught the guilty look that flashed over Miss Weasley's face and the concerned look that was on Professor Weasley's.

"Miss Weasley, Professor Weasley please have a seat." Severus gestured towards the two chairs in front of his desk.

Rose started in as she was sitting down. "Master Snape, I'm sorry about continually asking for your help. I'll try not to in the future."

Percy looked between the two of them and then spotted the house elf. "What can I help you with, Master Snape?"

Severus leaned back in his seat. "Deputy Headmaster, you may not be aware of it, but Madam Greene has forbidden the elves from entering the Infirmary." He watched as the other man's eyes widened and his expression became more like his mother's when she was upset by the moment. "Since you are the Deputy Headmaster, you are capable of overriding this order."

"House elves are allowed into all student areas in this school and into any other areas designated by a professor." Percy caught Snape's smirk before it faded.

"Thank you." Severus turned back to the elf waiting by his desk. "Meri, are you able to enter the Infirmary now?"

Meri popped away and was back in seconds. "Yes, Master Snape, Meri can enter again."

"Good. Miss Weasley," he leveled a serious look at the apprentice healer. "this information does not travel out of this room until you have permission." He waited until she agreed before he continued. "Meri was Madam Pomfrey's Infirmary elf for as long as I have know her. She was the elf that trained me to handle the Infirmary while Madam Pomfrey was away. Yes, I once worked at this school. Your Uncle can answer all your questions on that later."

He caught Percy nodding out of the corner of his eye. "Meri has agreed to take you under her wing and train you as well. She knows what spells to use and when and she can teach those spells to you. She knows her potions and their doses. If they allowed it, I do believe that she could pass the Healer exam, except that she cannot cast Wizard spells. Will you allow her to train you?"

Rose felt her eyes widen and looked over at the little elf. She had help if she was willing to accept a house elf as a teacher. "Yes, I will."

Severus watched as Meri's face shone. That elf loved having someone to boss about just as much as Poppy did. "Just know that none of the elves will be visible to Madam Greene. We do not want her going to the Headmaster to have them banned again."

Rose nodded as she stood up. "I need to head back, those students are still there."

Severus waved towards the door. "Of course. Good bye, Miss Weasley."

Meri popped off as the door closed.

Percy stood up as well. "Thank you, Snape. Is there anything I can't tell her?"

Severus sighed. "No, but make sure no one else hears. I am not ready for the Wizarding world to know that I am back at Hogwarts."

Percy grinned. "I don't think I am either. Maybe at the end of the school year, once we get this mess cleared out. If that was all, I'll go listen to the Headmaster complain that I was late to a meeting with him."

Severus raised an eyebrow. He ranked over the Headmaster? At Weasley's smirk, he shook his head and sent the man on his way.  
  
 


	4. Making it Right

Percy was glad that he was in charge of the tutor. It allowed him to charge virtually nothing for the other students to attend Snape's class, and he knew that the Headmaster would've charge a fortune. Over half of all the first years were now in Snape's tutorial class, but Percy doubted that Belcourt had even realized what was happening. He had found out that most of the students that had joined the new class were the ones that were chronically skipping Belcourt's. Since the Potions Professor had not reported a problem with attendance to his classes, Percy wonder how many other years were teaching themselves somewhere else in the castle.

Striding down the hall, he headed to the dungeon to perform the mandatory check on his tutor. What he walked into surprised him. He had planned to be in the room before the students arrived, so he had left lunch early; instead he walked into a room full of first years from every house. There was a low buzz of conversation, books open on the tables, and the scratching of quills as the students worked on something. Sitting on the tables next to them were empty plates and half-full glasses. Looking about quickly, he spotted Snape near a cauldron at a work station near his office door. He checked out the students' work as he passed through them to get to the man he needed to see.

Severus knew the moment Professor Weasley entered the room and hid his smile. His room was a sight he knew the man was not expecting to see. During his empty period between the two first year classes his room had become a place for a supervised prep. He had originally ordered the students out for lunch, but had eventually given in. Now, after Tim's class, Aqua, Terra and Ignis cleaned every table in preparation of serving lunch.

"Master Snape." Percy stopped a safe distance from the boiling cauldron.

Severus noted the color of the potion before answering. "Deputy Headmaster, what can I do for you today?"

Percy looked over the groups before focusing on Snape. "They aren't just studying potions, and isn't this lunch time?"

Severus quirked his lips into a half smile. "It is a supervised prep. I have no objection to them being here as long as they are working. If they get loud or play around, they leave. If you need to see me in private, we can step into my office."

Percy headed for the door with Snape following after him.

"I have to observe you in class today, sir. I was just stopping by early to let you know." Percy gestured to the room behind the closed door. "Seeing that group there...it explains what Bellamy, the DADA Professor and Mallery, she teaches Charms, were talking about. For the last couple of weeks they've been wondering where the first years were getting their information from and discussing the questions that the students were coming up with. "

Severus was pleased that they were asking better questions. He had been working with them on learning how to ask good questions. "And are they upset or happy?"

Percy smiled. "Happy. They wished their other groups were doing as well."

"Then they are worth keeping. How about Transfiguration?" Severus knew that his students were complaining that Professor Thebeau didn't answer their questions.

Percy shook his head. "Professor Thebeau doesn't seem pleased. But Aguillard was especially happy over something they were asking about Devil Snare."

Severus nodded. "Not as bad as we thought then. Most of the core class professors are salvageable - they just need to be taught to teach."

Percy glanced at the closed door and then back at Snape. "I was wondering if you would mind tutoring OWL and NEWT Potions revision groups. I can set them all up so you don't come in any extra days."

Severus opened the door. "Ask me after class."

(Ô.Õ)

The next week found Severus reteaching Potions to the fifth and seventh years. The groups were mixed so he split his room into OWLs on one side and NEWTs on the other side. One side would be researching a topic while he had the other brewing. At the beginning or end of the period he would discuss a topic of interest to one side, or both if the topic overlapped.

It only took one lesson for Severus to want to hex the current Potions Professor. He had worked through the mistakes of the first years, thinking that they had so many misconceptions because they were first years who were essentially teaching themselves. With the revision groups, all it had taken was one oral exam and watching the group brew a potion for him to realize that they had been taught short cuts before being taught how to actually brew correctly, and that there were numerous gaps and errors in their understanding of Potions theory.

The calmer attitude he had taken with the first years evaporated with the knowledge that not one of those students were the least bit ready for the major exams that were approaching all too quickly. Any of his old NEWT students would have recognized the level of work that he assigned them.

Percy held back a sigh as yet another fifth year walked out of his office. She was the latest in a number of the students that had complained to him about the amount and difficulty of the work that Snape was requiring of them. This last student also complained about him glaring at them. Sighing, he knew that he had to step in. The last thing he wanted was for them to be exposed to a full-blown 'Snape experience', or worse, Snape refusing to help them.

(Ô.Õ)

Percy leaned against Snape's desk, looked at the gathered group of students and gave them his best version of his Mum's mad look. They settled down fast. A few glanced about looking for Snape, and he could hear some whispering that they were glad the man wasn't there. He increased the strength of the look to Mum's 'Twins are in trouble' before he started in. "You do not need to be here if you do not wish to be. This is an optional revision class that you asked for." His gaze rested on a number of the seventh years.

"Many of you are complaining about the work that Master Snape is assigning you." He looked at the ones that had brought the complaints to him during the week. "If you wish to do well on your exams, I would recommend doing what Master Snape says and learn what he tells you to. He is giving his time to you so that you can improve, time he could be using to work on his own research, as a favor to me."

Percy pointed to the door. "There's the door - if you do not wish to learn from a currently active Potions Master who knows what you need to know in a lab, and what they will expect you to understand on your NEWTs and OWLs – you can leave. If you wish to have more career choices opened to you after you leave school, then I would suggest studying and learning as much as you can from this Master over the next several months. The Christmas holidays coming soon, and the exams are not much further off."

A fifth year Ravenclaw folded her arms and glared. "Professor Belcourt is preparing us for the OWLs. He works with us daily on them."

Percy gestured towards the door. "Miss Quimble, as I said, you may leave if you believe that Professor Belcourt's preparation if enough." Frowning, he looked over at a seventh year Ravenclaw. "Mr. Troughton, I know that you would have studied hard. More than even the Professor suggested. Are you willing to tell us how you did on your Potions OWLs? "

Patrick Troughton's eyes dropped and he bit at his lower lip for a moment. "I barely made an Acceptable."

Percy looked back over the group. "I know that Mr. Troughton is one of the brightest in his class and that he had the highest grade of his class. If he only made an Acceptable with Professor Belcourt's instruction, then how do you think most of you will do?"

He waited as their faces paled.

"Now, as I was called down here because there were complaints that Master Snape was asking too much of you," he searched their faces. "I asked Master Snape why he was doing so."

Troughton blinked in surprise. "You asked him? He is practically unapproachable."

Percy snorted. "Mr. Troughton, I would recommend talking to the first years in any house. Over half of them spend their prep period on the days that Master Snape is here in this room in a supervised prep. Additionally, some of you have noted that a number of first years don't make it to lunch. They are sitting in the very seats you are currently in, asking Master Snape for help on every subject."

A Hufflepuff leaned forward. "I know he tutors a Potions class right after us. I hear that he also tutors another one after lunch, and he has another revision class just after that. If he's supervising a prep in the middle, when does he have a moment during the day?"

Percy looked at her for a long moment before answering. "He doesn't, Miss Patterson. As I said, he is doing me a favor, one that I am going to have to work hard to pay back - which I am starting now, by talking to you."

"What did he say when you asked him?" Troughton leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"To quote Master Snape, you were taught a very 'slap-dash' way of making potions. All short cuts and no grounding in the basics. That is what he has been assigning you to research, the underlying theories that will be on your exams."

Troughton's eyes widened. "The Reaction Theory he was talking about last class... it was on the OWLs. I missed it on the exam... I'd never heard of it before."

Patterson jerked about and stared at the Ravenclaw. "When I asked Professor Belcourt about it, he dismissed it as an old archaic idea, not needed any more. It is on the exam?" As Troughton nodded, a frown formed on her forehead.

A quiet voice sounded out the the back of the room. "So, we have a lot to do - that's basically what you are saying. And that this Master Snape is somehow qualified to get us as ready as possible."

Percy nodded. "I know that he is acerbic, short tempered and hard to deal with. I also know that if you try, honestly try, he will do anything he needs to do to help you. You might not see it as help, but that is what it is."

Patterson rubbed a hand down her face and sighed. "Then where is he? We need to get started."

Percy looked over the group as they stared about the room, searching the shadowy corners. "You are all going to stay?"

"Yes." The room resounded with the answer.

"Terra." Percy looked down at the elf. "Please let Master Snape know that his class is now ready to learn."

Not a minute after the elf vanished the classroom door opened.

Severus swept a look over the group sitting there, noting that he hadn't lost anyone. "Fifth years, you need to be researching the Principle of Complementaries between ingredients. We will be discussing it after the Seventh years complete their brewing. Seventh Years read over the proper way to brew the Draught of Living Death, and then make it. He walked over to his desk, nodding to Professor Weasley as he left the room.

(Ô.Õ)

Two weeks before the holidays Severus tracked Percy down; a quick Muffliato ensured that his request went unheard by everyone else. "I need two hours alone in the Headmaster's Office." Severus watched as Percy frowned for a moment.

Not even questioning why, the Deputy nodded. "This evening, after dinner. I can get him out of the office for at least an hour and a half. Possibly two."

Severus ran his evening's plans through his mind. "That should be enough time, especially if I can be in there during dinner as well."

Percy glanced about before turning just enough to be facing the wall more than the hall. "The password is 'baguette'. I'll send a warning through the portraits when he decides to head back."

With a small smile, Severus canceled the spell and walked away to find an elf that would take him to the Headmaster's office later.

That evening, once dinner was served, Aqua took him to the alcove near the office. Saying the password quickly, he rode the stairs up to the door. He was greeted as he entered the room.

"Severus, my dear boy, I was wondering when you would find your way up here." Albus smiled at him as the other portraits added their own greetings.

"Albus." Severus nodded to his friend and then to the other portraits. "Everyone."

Crossing the room, he settled at a small table and pulled out a roll of parchment along with his writing implements. Looking back at the portraits, he tipped his head to the side. "I need your assistance."

"What do you need?" Black leaned forward and rested on the edge of his frame.

"Each of you has to know that the OWL and NEWT scores are abysmal." The rustling increased as more Headmasters leant forwards in their portraits. "I have concluded that the professors do not know what to teach and the students don't know what to study. They do not have OWLs and NEWTs in France, which is where all the teaching staff, with the exception of Percy Weasley, come from. They have no idea what kind of material they are expected to know, let alone the level the students should be working at."

He waited a moment for them to think about his interpretation of what was happening. He wasn't surprised when Albus was the one that spoke for them.

"That is a plausible cause - very plausible. What do you plan to do about it, Severus?" The blue eyes twinkled lightly as they looked down on the Potions Master.

"Each one of you have sat the exams, and have successfully taught the material for them. I would like a list of important theories, topics and practicals that the students need to know for the OWLs and NEWTs in your area of mastery. I will, of course, write out the Potions list."

Black blinked and then straighten up. "We haven't taught for decades, if not centuries; our information will likely be wrong."

Severus tapped his quill on his parchment. "Outdated slightly, but not wrong. I am sure that you know where to find the information if you don't think yours is correct. So, let's start with Charms."

During the next two and a half hours, he listened to the different portraits debate on key points and who to talk to to find out what was current.

"Severus," Albus shook his head as three different Charms Masters debated which portraits knew what was most important. "Minerva would be the best person to see about the material for Transfiguration. Do you ever see her?" He asked hopefully.

Severus couldn't imagine how worried Albus must be, having not seen Minerva for forty years, and was quick to reassure him. "She is as good as she can be, Albus. I was able to create a potion to help counteract the affects of the curse, and she is almost back to her normal self. If she walked in here today, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference." He stopped for a moment and studied Albus' face for a moment. "Well, you might, but most people wouldn't. She is better than I am."

He watched closely to see the relief that flashed over the painted face. "I will ask her what she thinks."

"So, you do still see her?" Albus' face brightened.

"I do." Severus refused to mention that they were living in the same house.

"Snape," A grizzly master from high up on the wall called down to him. "the best portrait to ask about Charms would be the one in Professor Flitwick's old office. If you could write Flitwick that would be a good idea as well."

"Thank you, Headmaster Villin." Severus wrote the note on a different parchment. "Is Professor Mallery currently using the office?"

Villin shook his head. "No. She's using one closer to the Gryffindor tower as she is the Head of Gryffindor House."

As Severus noted down that he was going to have to break into Filius' old office, one of the portraits cleared his throat.

"You need to head out now, Snape. Weasley says the idiot is coming."

"Thank you all for your help." Gathering his materials, Severus headed off to hunt down the other portraits.

Severus passed out a copy of his NEWT and OWL revision guides to his students a week later. He also gave a copy to Percy so he could distribute it to the other professors if he wanted to.

(Ô.Õ)

How the twins were coming home for Christmas was a point of contention that came to a crashing halt when Minerva had sent an owl that informed the two that they _would be_ riding the train. Tim and Nora felt lucky that it wasn't a howler, since they had been badgering Uncle Toby until his control over his temper had frayed away. The train ride was as much fun as both Aunt Min and Uncle Toby had assured them, but being home, a _real_ home, was far better. For the first part of the holidays Aunt Min had taken them shopping and sightseeing. Uncle Toby went when he could, but most of the time he spent working either in his lab at the house or at the Team's lab.

Christmas day was a day spent at home. Payne cooked up a marvelous roast and the presents kept the twins busy for the rest of the day.

Boxing Day found Severus at the table with timetables spread out as he attempted to mesh his obligations. He ran a hand through his hair as Minerva settled in the chair next to him and looked over the list. "I'm needed in the lab the first week back at school. There just isn't any way to get around it. I understand what's needed to be done at the stage the potion will be in. I've tried to explain it, but they just can't envision it."

Sighing he looked over at her, pushing the parchment away. "I have to contact Percy Weasley and tell him that I will not be there."

Minerva gave him a thoughtful look. "Who's going to cover your classes?"

"Thomas Paul agreed to teach for me that week if we couldn't find a solution." Pushing himself up from the table, Severus headed for the floo. There were three different places the Deputy Headmaster could be today: Hogwarts, his home, or the Burrow.

Three floo calls later, Severus found himself looking into the Burrow telling a child that he needed to speak with Percy.

"Master Snape," Percy blinked into the fireplace. He hadn't expect this particular person to be calling. "what can I help you with?"

Severus heard Minerva calling the twins for something behind him as he focused on Percy. "I have to change my work schedule. I won't be able to be at the school the first week of the term."

Percy's eyes widened before speaking rapidly. "Come through so we can talk. Mum and Dad would love to see you, anyway."

Severus raised an eyebrow but conceded. "Shall I bring McGonagall and the twins with me? We both know that they will want to see them."

Percy nodded as he backed away from the floo. "It might be for the best."

Severus backed out of the flames. "Min, Tim, Nora, we are going to a place called the Burrow." He raised an eyebrow at Minerva's amazed expression. "He's there, and you know that Molly and Arthur are going to want to know everything that happened, and meet everyone. We might as well get this over with."

"They would." Minerva smiled slightly. "Let's go."

While Percy waited he wondered if he should warn his family. The floo flared green before he had a chance and four people stepped out one after the other. "Master Snape, Professor McGonagall, Miss Fen and Mr. Fen. Welcome to the Burrow."

"Severus?.. Minerva?" Molly's voice came from behind Percy. "Is that really you?"

Severus had just enough time to pull Tim and Nora close as the entire Weasley clan attempted to pressed into the room.

Nora's whispered quietly. "Don't worry Uncle Toby, we won't let them knock you over." Tim and Nora formed a barricade between these people and Uncle Toby.

Severus rested a hand on Tim's shoulder. "Yes, Molly it is us. I needed to speak to Percy for a moment."

Percy looked over at Arthur. "Dad, can we use your study? This is school business."

"Professor Snape, you are back at Hogwarts? It isn't in the news anywhere."

Severus was fairly certain that the person speaking was Ronald.

"Master Snape is here?" The crowd moved as Rose pushed through. "Master Snape, it _is_ you. The Fen twins too! Welcome! You must be here to speak to Uncle Percy. I'll keep an eye on your wards while you do so, if you want."

"Aunt Min can watch us." Nora's back straightened as she glanced at the people who were pressing closer.

Tim glared at a black-haired child who almost bowled into him. "And we aren't leaving Uncle Toby yet." He shifted so that the boy was blocked from touching Uncle Toby's robe.

" _Toby?!_ " The name was choked out of a number of throats.

Percy caught Severus' permission before he turned to his family and folded his arms across his chest. "Master Snape is back at Hogwarts as a Potions tutor to his wards, Timothy and Elenora Fen. He teaches roughly half the first years Potions and he has two NEWT- OWL revision sessions. He has been there since the beginning of October. We do _not_ want it in the news, not even the Board knows."

He rested a stern look on Harry. "The Board doesn't need to know who's in the school right now. Master Snape is working with me to determine how to salvage the school."

Harry nodded slightly. "Okay, I won't bring it up to them. You do know that there are rumors that a cousin of Snape's is at the school teaching, right? One of the aurors last week looked at the holiday homework and thought that the man was borrowing Snape's old lesson plans." He quirked a half-smile at Snape. "Nice to know that there is only one Snape that can make children desperate for help on their Potions homework."

Severus' lips twitched in the effort not to grin.

"Now, I need to speak to him in private. I'm sure Professor McGonagall will be willing to tell you what they want you to know." Percy turned to Arthur once again. "May we borrow your study?"

"Yes, of course Percy." Arthur gestured towards the closed door.

"Nora, stay close to Tim." Severus looked from Nora to Tim. "Tim, no running off. You do not know this place. Let Miss Weasley and Aunt Min keep an eye on you both."

Both of them gave him a mutinous look before nodding. "Yes, Uncle Toby."

A stern look from Molly silenced all the questions that could be seen on the surrounding faces.

Minerva looked down at the two. "Go with Miss Weasley, she can introduce you to the other children." She looked at Rose. "Find us if something happens."

Rose was nodding when Nora turned and looked up at her. "Miss Weasley, can we go outside and play in the snow?"

"Call me Rose here, dear. There are too many people who will answer to Miss Weasley." Rose looked over at Snape, her question plain on her face. When he nodded, she grinned. "We can go out." Rose headed towards the door, making sure both first years were with her.

Severus felt the questioning gazes as the twins moved, showing his cane to everyone there for the first time.

"Master Snape." Percy headed towards the study with Severus moving slowly behind him.

Minerva looked at the collection of staring faces and smiled.

"Minerva, will you join us in the kitchen for a cup of tea?'" Molly gestured for everyone to clear the doorway. The group crowded into the kitchen, waiting to hear what Minerva would say.

Molly served tea and biscuits before she sat at the table. "The last we knew, you both were still in a ward in St. Mungo's. What happened?"

Minerva looked at everyone. "This travels no further." Having gained everyone's assent, she continued. "Severus moved us out of St. Mungo's about twenty years ago and into a series of Muggle facilities. About five years ago the last one learned that Severus could teach, so he spent years tutoring children that were in the facility so they didn't fall behind, and to help them in school if they were attending."

She shook her head at their amazed and skeptical expressions. "Severus is an excellent tutor as long as you try to learn. Yes, a number of those learned just that fact. About a year and a half ago, he was asked to help a child who had serious memory problems - the boy couldn't even remember Severus' name. I met with a young lady on the roof top - she prevented me from walking off edge while I was distracted by something else. Severus and Timothy eventually clicked - Elenora and I did as well. Somehow, Timothy started calling Severus 'Toby', and he remembered that name, and I became Min. At the end of the school year, Tim and Nora both received Hogwarts letters. Consequently Severus opened his old home, brewed a series of potions that have helped to mitigate the affects of the curses, and we moved there for the summer."

She stopped to take a sip of her tea before continuing in the stunned silence. "At the beginning of October, Tim was involved with a potions accident, Nora called from the Infirmary at Miss Weasley's insistence. Severus and I arrived at the school and took care of the children. Severus has been teaching Potions again ever since."

"So, Professor Snape is back, but everyone thinks he's Toby Snape?" Harry tried to take in the idea that no one had noticed.

"Percy is the only person there who has ever seen him before." Minerva smiled.

"Tim and Nora are his wards?" Arthur asked the question he could hear being murmured by the people around him,

"Severus adopted the two of them, and I am also their legal guardian." Minerva's eyes crinkled as her smile broadened. "Do not mention how surprised you are around the children, please. They will feel uncomfortable.

"We won't." Molly shot a stern look over her family.

Percy and Severus walked through the door at that moment. Severus looked at the cup of tea placed in his hand as he passed Molly and shook his head slightly. Some things never changed.

Molly shooed him towards the table "So, are you all staying for dinner?"

"It will not be an inconvenience?" Severus place the tea cup on the table as he watched Molly's face carefully. All he saw was exasperation.

"Severus! Of course it won't be."

Severus met Minerva's eyes and smiled slightly. No, some things never changed. "Then, I think we shall."

Percy sat down next to Snape and folded his hands on the table top. "Professor McGonagall, are you willing to come back to Hogwarts as a tutor for Transfiguration? The students need all the help that they can get for their OWLs and NEWTs."

Minerva looked over a Severus before frowning at her tea. Could she do it? It had been a long time since she stepped foot into a classroom. Her attention span was working well for the retiring life style she was currently living, but would it withstand the constant distractions that were found in a classroom? Raising her eyes once again, she silently asked Severus his opinion.

"If you find that I need to do any modifications, just inform me. I think you can do it easily." Severus watched as her face filled with resolve.

"I will be happy to help, as long as you can legally have me in the school as a tutor."

Percy smiled at the stipulation. "I can. Once Master Snape used an old by-law to gain access to the grounds, I researched all the ways I could get competent teachers inside to help the school without the Headmaster's approval. There are a number of them from the time of the Founders that have never been removed; there is one specifically that allows for outside tutors that have a higher degree ability than the current Professor to come in and instruct the students in the subject. You are an animagus and Professor Mallary isn't; therefore, you qualify. "

"She does teach them about human transfiguration, right?" Minerva's eyes widened when Percy shook his head no.

"She can't do it, and doesn't feel comfortable teaching the matter." Percy watched as an appalled look settled on McGonagall's face. "Can you come in when Master Snape isn't teaching? If so you can use his room and office. The students are already used to having revision there."

Minerva nodded slowly. "We don't want everyone to know that we are back yet. There is to much to handle without the media frenzy that will happen when the Wizarding World learns that we are back at Hogwarts." She looked back over at Severus. "They know you as Toby Snape, right?"

Severus nodded. "And they know that Tim and Nora have an Aunt Min who was a Gryffindor."

"Then I will just be Aunt Min, since they know of me as that," distaste plain on her features.

The Weasley clan looked at each other before throwing out their own suggestions.

(Ô.Õ)

The May staff meeting came to a halt as Belcourt slammed a hand onto the table top and glared at every person at the table. "Someone else is in this castle teaching potions! Why?"

Percy did his best to hide his look of incredulous disbelief, but he wasn't very successful judging by Professor Aguillard expression.

The Potion Professor's eyes skimmed over the most of the faces until they settled on the Deputy Headmaster's. "I ask you, Professor Weasley, why is there some upstart teaching Potions?"

Thinking about how Snape would respond in his place had Percy struggling to maintain his neutral facade He had been expecting this explosion back in January when Master Paul had covered Snape's classes. The blond had come up to lunch the last day he was there, just so that he could enjoy the experience and Percy had even introduced the visitor as a Potions Master. He was wondering what had finally clued the man in. "First, Master Snape is not an upstart - he is a highly qualified Potions Master."

Belcourt brushed that aside with a wave of his hand. "One does not need to be a potions master to teach a Potions class. Just because he's teaching it doesn't automatically mean that he is a master in the field."

Percy paused as he looked at the man hard. _Now_ he had to wonder if any of the current professors held a mastery in their field. "I happen to know that Master Snape is just that, a Master of Potions. He is teaching a class here due to a serious potions accident that occurred this year. The guardian of the student involved invoked a by-law of the school that allowed him to have a tutor teach his child in the course that he felt was a danger, in this case Potions."

"That's just _one_ student.. I've been told that a good half of my first years are seeing him." Belcourt waited to see what the redhead would say to that.

Percy almost laughed. The man didn't know anything about the OWL/NEWT revision classes. "Of course. The by-law stipulated that all the students in the endangered student's year be granted the chance to take the class with the tutor." Percy watched Moreau out of the corner of his eye. The idiot didn't know about the others. Luckily Belcourt continued before Moreau could explode.

Belcourt couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could this have happened? This redheaded Englishman had to be lying about the by-law. He needed proof. "Show me the law," he barked at the Deputy.

Sighing, Percy headed over to the bookshelf that lined the wall of the staffroom. He had moved the book with the by-laws onto it as soon as Snape had taken the position. Opening the book to the page he had marked, he slid it before Belcourt. The other professors leaned over to read at the same time the Potions Professor's face became paler and paler.

"How can you be sure that this man is teaching them as well as I am? I know that he can't be doing better."

How did he know? Seven years under the man, earning an 'O' on his potions OWL and then passing his NEWT exam were all adequate examples for Percy. Using all the experience he had gained at the Ministry at keeping a straight face while idiots talked, he settled back in his seat. "If this's going to be a point of contention shall we see what the exam says? You and Master Snape can each devise a section of the end-of-term exam, then we shall see how all the students do on them."

The Headmaster glared at Percy. "How can we be sure that he won't be coaching his students through the exam?"

Percy was sure that Belcourt was more likely to do that than Snape. Snape helping anyone on a exam was unheard of. The idea might actually gain a laugh from the man - it certainly would from every student that ever had him. "They shall take the exam as if it was an OWL or NEWT. Two other professors can supervise."

Moreau frowned. "And who will grade it? Snape would just score his however he wanted."

' _ _As strictly as possible, enough__ _to make you regret that you didn't eat, sleep and breathe potions the week before the exams. Yes, I know that.'_ Setting his thought aside, Percy thought the problem through. "We can ask the Board to request that the Ministry provide examiners and to grade the exams."

Belcourt laughed. "And just why would they do that?"

"Because _you_ want the exams graded fairly." Percy made sure that he sounded like he actually believed that.

Moreau smirked at his Deputy. "You arrange it. Belcourt, write up your section of the exam. Weasley have your tutor do the same."

(Ô.Õ)

The evening of the staff meeting, Percy watched as Headmaster Moreau walked out of the Board of Governors' meeting. The man had left before indicating that the wasn't finished. Catching Harry's eye Percy tried to silent communicate what he was about to do. "There is one more thing that needs to be discussed."

Looking at the seriousness on the Deputy Headmaster's face, the governors sat back down. Draco Malfoy leaned forward, his eyes resting on the only Weasley that, in his opinion, had succeeded in the Ministry politics. "What is the status of the school?"

Knowing that he would have Harry's support, Percy focused on the rest of the Board. "A guardian activated an archaic school by-law this year."

The Board gave him a questioning look. Trying not to roll his eyes, Percy explained the by-law one more time.

Neville blinked and shook his head. "So, I could have been out of Snape's class?"

Percy shook his head. "Snape's class is a safe, happy place compared to our current Potions class."

He watched as the Board members blanched. All of them could remember what Snape's class had been like. "I discovered back in October that roughly half of Belcourt's first years were skiving off his class. The guardian pulled both of his wards out of the class after the accident and since he is a Potions Master he came to the school to tutor both his wards. The students who were skiving off Belcourt's class began attending the private tutoring sessions too, because was permitted by the by-laws."

"The man is their guardian? How can we trust that he is not just giving them a grade and not teaching them." Terry Boot leaned back in his seat as he waited to hear his answer.

Percy looked down at the table for a moment. He didn't have permission to tell them who Snape was, but he knew if he said it, they would understand. Deciding that he would have to face Snape's wrath, he looked over at Harry to see if the man would help watch his back. When Harry grinned, he knew he could continue. "Mr. Boot, Snape wouldn't do that. Even I know that though he favored his House with points, he didn't cut them any slack when it came to grades."

"Severus Snape?" Draco leaned on the table, his eyes wide. The rest of the Board wasn't in any better shape with the exception of Harry. "I had heard rumors of a Snape at the school, but the rumors weren't validated. They say the man is a cousin of Professor Snape."

Percy spotted Harry's grin and knew that he was wearing one. too. "Yes, Professor Snape, though he is going by Toby Snape right now. I don't know how he did it, but he and McGonagall are back. Snape isn't quite like our memories, but he can still teach. Now that he isn't under Voldemort's shadow, he is treating all houses like we hear he treated his Slytherins. He has been helping me with the additional tasks the Board gave me."

The Board settled back, their smiles showing that they were happy with this outcome. Most of the Board was surprised when Neville spoke up. "It's good to hear that half the first years will understand their Potions exam."

Percy smirked lightly. "Both he and McGonagall are doing me a favor by running revision sessions for the NEWT and OWL Potions and Transfiguration exams for those who want to attend, as well. Plus Snape holds a first year prep class between his other obligations. Although it's not just first years any more." He was cut off by the Slytherin section of the Board laughing.

Tracey Nettlebed shook her head. " Good, half of the first years are going to do quite well on all their exams, and the OWLs and NEWTs for Potions and Transfiguration should be better as well. This is really good news."

"The Headmaster and Belcourt don't think that he will be grading his students' exams fairly." Percy grinned at the stunned silence. "They don't know it's Severus Snape, and even if they did, they don't _know_ Snape. The Headmaster agreed that both Belcourt and Snape would write the first year exam, but he doesn't trust Snape to administer it or grade it - I don't trust Belcourt."

"What do you want from us?" Kouta Ohnishi tipped his head to the side while Ethan Bexley waited with his quill poised to write down the ideas.

"I want to know if the Board is willing to ask the Ministry to administer and grade the exams.

Draco smirked. "I think I can assure that they will."

Harry's smiled as he chimed in, sarcasm lacing his words. "We can't have Snape grading them unfairly now can we?"

Percy grinned. "Thanks."

Harry nodded before he leaned forward. "What can you tell us about the status of the school?"

Percy settled at the table and began his report as Ethan started writing the request letter.

(Ô.Õ)

Percy closed Snape's office door behind him. Taking a deep breath and making sure that his wand was close to hand, he prepared to tell Snape what had happened. He had chosen to come right as Snape was leaving for the day to save the students from dealing with an irate professor. "Master Snape?"

Severus turned, raising an eyebrow when he saw Percy approaching with trepidation. "Professor Weasley?"

"Snape, I had to tell the Board that _you_ were here." Percy waited for the rant he knew would be coming next.

Severus knew that this day would be coming, personally he thought it would have happened earlier. He gestured towards the chairs near the floo. "What was their reaction?"

Percy sat down gingerly. "They were happy actually. Many expressed a belief that the Potions exam scores were going to improve, especially when I told them about your prep and revision classes. I had to tell them since Belcourt just found out that someone else was teaching Potions and was making a big deal about it. They also know about McGonagall as well."

At Snape's quickly covered surprised look, Percy grinned and recapped everything that had happened since the staff meeting.

Severus leaned back in his chair, amusement warming his eyes. "So, I have to write up only half the exam, and it is being administered by a team of Ministry officials. Will the officials know who was in whose class?"

At Percy's head shake, he smiled. He had an exam to plan.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus was not pleased when a belligerent man stormed through his classroom door, interrupting his Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff class.

"You! What type of questions are you planning for the exam? I demand to know!" Belcourt waved his hands about ignoring the students brewing around him.

Severus swept a mild glare over the distracted children. "Continue your brewing."

Belcourt watched as the children ignored him and focused back on their cauldrons and ingredients. He sneered as the upstart used a cane to help him out of the seat he was in.

Severus walked over to Belcourt, checking the potions along the way. "Lattimer, adjust the heat. Bridges, cut the nettles finer. Michaels," he vanished the sludge in the bottom of the girl's cauldron. "Start again. Pay closer attention to the order the ingredients are to be added."

He eventually made it to the sneering visitor. "Surely you have students at this moment in your room?"

Belcourt frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "I wish to discuss this right now! I refuse to have questions that hold no relevance to anything that is happening in the potions community."

Severus raised an eyebrow before pointing towards the door. "The exam will stand as it is written. I have not seen your half, you will not see my half. You will leave now. I do hope your students are not brewing unsupervised."

Turning around, Severus noted that Michaels had started again and that the others had followed his directions.

Belcourt looked about at the students that had long ago fled his class before dismissing them and the upstart from his mind as he swept back out the door. He would get the Headmaster to share the other half of the exam with him.

Belcourt's visit to Snape's room was the talk of the school by the end of the day.

The last weeks before the OWLs and NEWTs passed slowly. Severus' revision classes had asked if he would use those weeks to help revise for their other exams as well and Severus had agreed.

During this time, Percy made sure that no other professor went near Snape's room and he took upon himself to finally research why both the former professors were able to floo into the school.

(Ô.Õ)

Patrick Troughton worked his way deeper into the dungeons. Most of the others had made their way outside after their final NEWT exam, but Troughton had something he needed to do. Knocking on the closed door he hoped that the man hadn't already left for the day.

"Enter."

He pushed the door open and peered about looking for the source of the weary sounding voice. "Master Snape?"

Severus turned from the cauldron that he was decanting from. "Mr. Troughton, you have a question?"

Troughton shook his head. "No, I wanted to thank you for all the time you spent helping us. You even brought in Min, it really made a difference." A smile slipped on his face. "I think I did really well, and it's thanks to you."

Severus quirked up one side of his mouth. "You are welcome, Mr. Troughton. Now, you should be outside enjoying the sunlight."

His smile broadening, Troughton left as quietly as he had come.

Leaning back in his seat, Severus sighed. One more exam to go, and then this year would be done. He was ready for summer.

(Ô.Õ)

The first years entered the Great Hall to sit their Potions exam. One group entered the room feeling very nervous and another entered feeling supremely confident.

Tim sat down near Nora. He practiced picking colors and pulling up the memories that were attached to them. Nervously tapping his fingers on the desk top, he wished that the exam would just start. He was pulled out of his circling thoughts as a voice finally broke through.

"We were asked to administer this exam to ensure fairness. Your table tops are to be clear of everything but your writing implements. Know that these exams have been spelled to prevent cheating." The elderly wizard waited while the last desk was cleared. With a quick flick of his wand, he sent the exams out to the students. "You may begin."

Tim found parts of the exam to be easy, he just had to recall a color or a memory clue and the answer was there. Then there was the rest of the exam. Sighing, he dug deep, attempting to determine answers by doing his best to connect ideas that were vague and foggy.

Once the writing portion was done, they moved onto the brewing section.

As soon as Tim saw what they were brewing, he sighed in relief. It wasn't easy, but it was one that he knew well. He knew that he could not deviate from the pattern that Uncle Toby had taught him. Meticulously placing his materials in the order he would need them, he began.

(Ô.Õ)

Ignis delivered Severus to the alcove nearest the Headmaster's office. Making his way up to the office, Severus was certain that this meeting was going to be a study in patience.

Melinda Bobbin, the representative from the Wizarding Examinations Authority, sat next to Draco Malfoy who was representing the Board of Governors. The other three present were the Headmaster, his Deputy, and the Potions Professor. When Severus stepped into the room, Melinda gasped, Malfoy suppressed a grin and Percy directed him to the empty seat next to himself.

Headmaster Moreau ignored the reactions of the visitors. "So, you finally made it. You should have been here five minutes ago."

Severus looked at the time. "The letter I received said to be here at 12:30. That is the current time." He settled down next to Percy. "Shall we see what the Ministry has determined. I have grading to finish so that I can get to the labs."

Bobbin tapped the file after she received a look that told her that it was best not to waste Snape's time. "The data that we collected was not originally sorted by professor as the exam was given in a double blind situation. The Professors didn't know what the other asked, and the graders didn't know which students the Professors taught. Mr. Malfoy, who was privy to the information, sorted the students into their classes. The proctors of the exam sorted the questions by importance and relevance to future use in potions."

Belcourt smirked as he looked over at the upstart's blank face. All of his questions had to be highly ranked.

"The score was split into a practical grade and a written grade so that the differences there could be examined, but they are also combined in an overall grade." She opened the folder and looked at the data. "Professor Belcourt, your students' top score was an 'A', most were lower. This is consistent with your students OWL and NEWT scores. Just as consistent are your students' grades on their practicals. Most received a 'P', though some did succeed in an 'A'."

Bobbins watched as Belcourt looked fairly proud before turning to Snape. "Professor Snape -"

Belcourt slammed his hands into the table as he shot to his feet. "He is no professor!"

Bobbins looked at Snape, uncertainty on her face. Malfoy touched her arm and shook his head once. Nodding, she turned her attention back to Belcourt. "I'm sorry, that was Master Snape, not Professor."

The smirk she received from the former-Head of Slytherin told her that it was fine. "Master Snape, your students' top score was an 'O', most lower, although very few received 'P' or less. Your students' practical grades mirror their written grade, but none received less than an 'A'. As to be expected from you, sir. I am sorry, if I had known that it was you, sir, I would have pulled your students' previous OWL and NEWT scores for comparison."

Ignoring the confusion on the Headmaster and the Potions Professor's faces, Percy leaned forward. "The scores are in, now both instructors can record their grades. Master Snape, will you be tutoring next year as well?"

"It depends on who is teaching the class." Severus pushed up from his chair. "Now, I have grades to handle."

Malfoy nodded to the others and leaned over to quietly impress on Bobbin the need not to let anyone know that Snape was back.

Percy watched as Snape left and prepared for the long meeting that was about to follow. The Ministry and Board were both going to use this to aggravate the Headmaster, and he was going to have to listen to it all.

(Ô.Õ)

Percy watched as the Headmaster Moreau stormed out of the Board meeting and left a cloud of aggravation and frustration behind him. The man was refusing to dismiss the three Professors who did not have a Mastery in the field they taught. Turning back to the collection of people who ruled the school from afar, Percy knew that he had to add to the confusion. In the end, though, it might just clear it up.

Draco glared at the door as it shut. "Why is that man the Headmaster?"

Kouta Ohnishi sighed. "Because the Board before us put him into power, and we haven't found anyone to take his place."

Percy leaned forward and gave everyone a tentative look.

Harry caught the expression. "What is it Percy?"

The Board focused on the Deputy Headmaster.

Percy swallowed hard before straightening his shoulders. "We have another option, if they accept it." It took Longbottom's questioning look to have him continue. "Neither Snape nor McGonagall were officially removed from their positions as Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress."

He had spent weeks trying to figure out how those two were able to floo into the school. It was while he was researching that he discovered that the Board of Governors had rushed through the procedures of replacing the two offices and in that rush, skipped the step of removing the previous Headmaster and Deputy. He still had no clue how they were capable of flooing into the school, but he had already scheduled a ward check for the summer. The last one on record was the summer after the Final Battle.

Draco and Harry looked at each other before turning back to Percy. "Do they know?"

Percy shook his head.

"Then the Board will take it from here. You do realize that this might cost you the Deputy position?" Draco leaned back in his seat, watching regret, quickly followed by acceptance flit across Percy's face.

Percy sighed. "Yes, but if it will get that man out of the office, it will be worth it."

Draco nodded. "Leave it to me."

(Ô.Õ)

Severus sat behind a desk he had never thought he'd sit behind again.

"Welcome back, Severus." Albus twinkled down at his friend.

"Thank you, Albus." Severus gave his old friend a slight smile. Albus already knew that he would prefer to be in the research labs than here.

"The scores came back much better than the recent ones." Villin looked down at the returning Headmaster.

Severus nodded. "Your help was well received. Most of the Professors accepted the guidelines and the students studied hard."

He felt proud of his revision group, but was even prouder of Tim and Nora who had both passed. Nora made an 'O' on her Potions exam and Tim had made an 'E', just barely, but he had made it due to his practical. They had also passed their other classes.

Severus turned as the office door opened.

"Headmaster Snape, the applicants for the Muggle Studies position are here." Percy gestured towards the staffroom. "I left them in the staffroom so you could chose which one you wanted to talk to first."

Severus picked up the top application. "Miss Tabitha Greece will be first. Please show her in." He watched as his Deputy headed back out the door.

When the Board had called him and Minerva to meet with them, both of them had been shocked to hear what Percy Weasley had discovered. Minerva had promptly retired from the position, saying that it was too much stress, but the Board had convinced him to remain Headmaster.

St. Mungo's had to clear him to be able to work. That had been an entertaining moment but not as entertaining as when he witnessed the Board removing Moreau as the Headmaster, declaring that Snape's hiatus was over since he was now declared capable of fulfilling his position.

It took Severus a week to convince Minerva to teach Transfiguration for the next school year. He would spend the school year looking for a replacement for her. The Team had scoured the potions community and found four different Masters who were willing to teach and he was going to be interviewing them next week.

He was, of course, still working with his Team, but he had to listen to Thomas question his sanity. The blond couldn't see how Severus could teach, or why he would want to.

Severus blanked his face as the door opened. It was time to start repairing the damage done to Hogwarts.

(Ô.Õ)

Severus closed the desk drawer and smiled. It had taken six years, but he was now done.

Minerva had only stayed one year, and Severus had hunted high and low for another Transfiguration Professor that she would approve of for most of that year. Even while he was searching for her replacement, he knew he didn't wish to stay at Hogwarts. With that in mind, he had Minerva work with Percy that entire year so that he would know precisely what his duties were as Deputy, and then the year afterwards he started training him to become the Headmaster. It had taken him the rest of the twins' school years to have Percy ready, but he had succeeded. He had been working in his Team's labs at least once a week for a good portion of the past year.

Walking across the Headmaster's office, he looked out the window, and scanned the Forbidden Forest for a moment before his eye landed on the Quidditch pitch.

Nora had joined the Gryffindor team as a beater in her third year. There had been a long conversation the summer before about what would happen if her grades dropped. They hadn't, and she stayed on the team for the rest of her school career. A small smile curled his lips as he remembered her NEWT scores. Nora could go on to be a professional Quidditch player, but had the scores to go for whatever she wanted.

Thinking of the NEWT scores brought even a larger smile to his face. Tim had done what was considered the impossible. _'He proved that the Hat was right. He did belong in Ravenclaw, no matter how much the other Professors were wondering about his placement by the end of his first year.'_ At the end of Tim's second year, he sent the Memory Charm Specialists at St. Mungo's a concise report that explained the tricks that had worked with Timothy. It had taken most of the second term to convince them that the Muggle tricks were helping. Luckily he was able to show the progress from the first year scores to his second year ones. Tim spent good bit of that summer in and out of St. Mungo's being tested by astounded healers. In his sixth year, thanks to Severus continuing to teach him both Legilimency and Occlumency, Tim had surprised him by forming the gray fog obscuring his mind into an Occlumency shield. Once he succeeded in that, he was able to focus and remember. Things that he had learned and had forgotten were in sharp focus and he could finally make connections easily. Severus had worried about the constant effort needed to keep the fog in the shield, but Tim had laughed before telling him that they were still TNT. They were dynamite that knew when to rest. Severus had taken that to mean that Tim wasn't constantly shielded.

Shaking his head slightly, he knew that there was going to be a large party tonight. Both Tim and Nora had made all Os and Es on their NEWTs and Min had promised that they could have friends over if they succeeded in doing well on their exams. For a brief moment he considered hiding in his lab, but knew that he couldn't disappoint those two.

Turning back to the office, he glanced at the time. The new Headmaster should be there shortly and he could finally hand over the reins of the school.

Percy walked up the stairs and rested his hand on the door handle. He had never thought this day would happen. Seven years ago, it wasn't even one of his goals. But slowly over the last six years it had become one. Opening the door, he spotted Severus standing near the desk, leaning lightly on his cane. "Headmaster."

Severus shook his head as Percy crossed the room. "No, it's just Master Snape, Headmaster Weasley." Smiling, he walked to the door. Holding the the door open he turned back towards the redhead who was now behind the desk. "The school is yours now. We've made it back to number one again, I know you can keep it there."

Percy smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'll do my best."

With one last nod, Severus walked through the door and let it close behind him. Three elves appeared before him when he stepped past he gargoyle. "Ignis, Aqua, and Terra. Thank you for all you help."

"You are welcome, Master Snape." Terra held out her hand. "Terra will take you home, sir."

"Thank you." He looked at the other two. "Goodbye."

"Bye Master Snape. If Master Snape needs help..."

"I know who to call."

Severus took Terra's hand and she took him home.


End file.
